


Cursed

by ArcMages



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: A crap ton of mystery, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Character Death, Gen, Mercenaries, Non-Graphic Violence, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2019-11-19 10:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 38,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18134309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcMages/pseuds/ArcMages
Summary: — An AU dealing with mystery and supernatural elements.Mercenaries with different motives, a cursed villager, mysterious figures in the woods.





	1. Prologue

The night is supposed to be peaceful.

But not in a certain village which lies next to the chirping woods when the sun sets into dusk.

In this village, people fall asleep in fear. They board up their homes with the utmost of security— covering up windows, doors, and even the walls. Curfew is the moment the sun starts to fall. No one speaks a word. Those who shake in fear, dare to even breath. Families lie next to each other, couples in each others arms.

During these restless nights, one unlucky household will suffer the loss of their most treasured value. Whether it be a family member, a lover, gold, or a bite of survival. It's been like this for a month now, the villagers knew what to expect. But never, did they feel prepared.

Sometimes, they heard a howl. Sometimes, footsteps. A rustling. A growl.

Last night, the victim was a young blonde-haired woman. Supposedly, everyone loved her. She was rather cute and had a kind heart. When the sun was bright, she foretold that a crimson mercenary would show up to help the village. It didn't matter who believed her or who didn't— for she was found gone by morning. The only evidence left behind was a claw mark  edged in the wood of her home and a drop of fresh blood by the door.

Perhaps you could say another sufferer could've also been the silver-haired man who loved her so dearly. He fell victim to traumatic heartbreak and soon enough, became obsessed with revenge. Luckily, he wasn't quite the reckless type. He gathered a team of mercenaries in which he acquainted himself to white-haired male who only knew killing to be the answer and a brown-haired male who only cared for their safety and well-being.

Tonight, the town suffers yet another attack. But this time, it's different. The victim is an orange-haired male who's figure is blessed with youth. Everyone in this village knows each other— he had a reputation for his blazing hair and bright eyes. 

A high-pitched scream sounds in the silence. Everyone in the village could hear it. Even the chirping crickets and the hooting owls come to a stop. There's more than just a single scream.

Two screams.

Then a cry.

The villagers, hiding in their homes, uncover their ears. There's a silence of any other sound. Brave enough, a couple of villagers sneak out of their wood-built homes. One of them, a forest green-haired male with glasses. He whips his head from side to side before continuing on to the direction of the cry.

When the male opens the door to a small home, he finds a dusk blue-haired young man holding the smaller male in his arms. His sobs are painful to hear. Immediately, the villagers gather around the boys, examining.

"My brother! H - He was a - attacked," the blue-haired male stutters, his body shaking uncontrollably. "Mitsuki!!"

Mitsuki's breathing is fast. His clothes are ripped and a large bloody gash is imprinted on his chest. On the other hand, his brother didn't have a single wound.

In panic, a couple of villagers leave then come back with medical supplies. They applied a stinging alcohol to the wound and bandaged him up. They plan, that after Mitsuki regains his consciousness, they would question him.

_What happened?_

_What did he see?_

_How did he get the gash?_

More villagers leave their homes, except for the children. And for once, the village isn't silent at night. Tonight, they coalesce.

And just a few kilometers away on a hill, stands a crimson-haired male with a black cape connecting around his shoulders and neck, the hood blowing off. He looks out into the distance, spotting the village.  _Finally,_ he thought,  _some civilization after weeks of running._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayeo! This is a story originally publishing on Wattpad but I decided to put it here for you guys. If you'd like to be ahead of the game then find it there.  
> Updates will be every Friday. I hope you enjoy!


	2. The Crimson-Haired Mercenary

The raven-haired male poured a slight amount of alcoholic liquid to a cloth, his sharp yet worrisome eyes watching as the darkened spot in which it formed expanded unevenly. He gently pressed it to the exposed wound on his older's brother chest, tracing it.

The orange-haired male winced, he bit his lip. "That hurts," he managed to squeak out, holding back the tears forming at corner of his eyes.

The younger brother, Iori Izumi, continued to rub the alcohol-soaked cloth against the wound. "I'm sorry, Mitsuki." He tried to hold back his hand from shaking, but he couldn't help it. The sight of the gruesome scratch stretched across his older brother's thin framed chest, from shoulder to stomach, it hit deep down in him. He couldn't help but to see it as a vicious claw mark.

The bleeding had been cleaned away, it was practically a miracle the wound wasn't too deep. And somehow, the attacker hadn't ended his life on the spot. And thanks to the village's bravery and generosity, the two had received immediate help which saved Mitsuki's life from blood loss.

Once Iori had finished applying the disinfectant to the wound, he helped his brother wrap a new, clean bandage around his chest, making sure it wasn't too tight. "You should get some rest now. It'll heal faster that way."

Mitsuki threw on his dark brown tunic then wrapped the belt around his waist. "Don't worry about that, I'm good." He stepped off the bed to slip on his shoes.

"Listen to me. I don't want you facing the headman.," Izumi paused for a moment, then lowered his voice. "It's not like he would care anyways."

"You know I can't cancel a summoning from headman Anesagi." Mitsuki pushed open the door, "Now c'mon, it'll be over quick."

Iori, unsure about the situation, let out a sigh before following his brother out of the small house.

Mitsuki seemed a little too carefree. It had been just about 11 hours since he had gotten attacked by the mysterious terrorizer of the village and now, it was as if he had completely recovered mentally. In a sense, that wasn't exactly a bad thing. But it made Iori worry. He wanted to know what his brother had saw, he wanted to know how he felt at the time.

Perhaps Mitsuki was just playing it off as if everything was okay. Deep down, Iori wanted his brother to be open with him. He wanted to help.

Brushing a patch of loose bangs from his face, Iori lifted his hands up. But something had caught his eyes. A deep-red mark was stained on his fingers. He closed his hand, hiding the tips of his fingers. It was strange, he clearly remembered the wound was dry of fresh blood.

Together, they headed off to the headman's estate, which was much more rich and secure compared to the common villager's small home. It was supposedly an honor to be summoned by the headman, but Iori couldn't help the dubious feeling dwelling up in him.

Along the way, villagers watched them, their faces in question. It was too clear, they were eager to know what Mitsuki had to say. And what headman Anesagi would do.

* * *

"Vodka, please."

A hooded male slapped down a few coins onto the counter. The bar was currently empty since it was quite early in the morning. Yamato raised a brow at the mysterious male as he took a seat, he saw a short lock of red haired sticking out from underneath the hood. The hood extended from a large cloak which was just pure black. "You're not from here are you?"

"Just passing by." The hooded male's voice was rather high, but it had a taint of hoarseness.

"Erm, we don't have vodka. Sorry about that. But we do have -"

"I'm good with anything then."

". . . Alright." Yamato pushed up his glasses and grabbed a bottle of a different alcoholic beverage from under the counter. Popping it open, he snuck glances at the customer who had his head down on the table, the hood, now completely covering over his head.  _What a strange guy,_ he thought.He then poured the liquid into a glass and placed it next to the male's head, "Here you are."

No response. No budge.

". . . Hello?" Yamato tapped the counter.

No reaction.

"You're kidding me right. . ." Had the customer fallen asleep or passed out? There was no way to tell. But by no means would he have this guy just knocked out on the counter of his bar without any good reason. It was often customers would pass out after a drink, but they would do that at the corner tables. At least, not the counter. He tapped the male's shoulder, "Oi, pull yourself together!"

The male groaned, then pulled himself up in a slouching position. "Sorry, it's been an awfully long trip."

"We have an inn here in this village, you might want to catch a room there," Yamato suggested. ' _Though a caffeinated drink probably would've been a better choice for this man.'_

"Thanks, I'll. . . be sure to do that." The male took a sip of his drink. He had no particular reaction to it. Perhaps his drowsiness had dissolved his sense of taste.

A moment of silence went by. Yamato couldn't help but to be a little curious of the mysterious male. He didn't want to come off as nosy though, so he suggested to have a conversation to help keep awake before asking, "Where do you come from?"

The male didn't hesitant to answer. "I've been all over the world, don't even remember where I started." He chuckled a bit at that remark. Whether he was kidding or laughing at his own unfortunateness, Yamato couldn't tell. "Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself didn't I," he added.

This caught Yamato's interest, "Uh - right."

The male pulled the hood off from over his head, revealing bright crimson-colored hair. One side of his hair had longer side bangs which fell loosely against his cheek. Telling from the youth in his eyes, he was still a young adult. And rather attractive too, no denying that. With his face now revealed, he appeared a lot less mysterious and intimidating. In fact, quite the opposite. The resting expression on his face gave off a warm and open vibe.

The boy smiled, though he still appeared drained of sleep. "I'm Riku. I heard, as a mercenary, there's an abnormal situation here I could take on."


	3. Treasures at Heart

A white-haired male with longer bangs to one side of his face and a thin yet still masculine build slipped on his buckled boots next to the door. He glanced over at his silver-haired friend while clicking in the last buckle. "Gaku, hurry up. I don't want to arrive late to the meeting because of you moping around." 

Gaku glared back at him with his sharp eyes and says roughly, "Alright. Don't have to be so impatient, Tenn." He placed down the picture of a young woman with bright eyes and blonde hair on the nightstand and headed towards the door. She was smiling and pointing out to a field of purple flowers.

Tsumugi was her name. And just as her features showed, she was a kind-hearted and innocent girl. She took everyone's matters into her own and did so with the best of her ability. Not ever once would she discriminate to help. She cared for everyone equally. That's what made the village love her. That's what made her disappearance so significant. But Tsumugi wouldn't want that, to be put above any others.

Gaku gave his whole heart to her. "Start caring for yourself for once," he would say to her as she walked down the streets with a pile of groceries in her hands to deliver to a local elder. Of course, such a statement would drive her to confusion. For she wanted to fit his request but also knew it just wasn't achievable. And so, Gaku took care of her at his own will. It wasn't long before she returned his feelings and moved into their shared house. 

When the terrorizing started, and repeated, Gaku held her in his arms every night. Never would she be in danger when he was around, he would think. But it happened too abruptly. On the 30th morning of the incidents, she was gone. His arms were empty. All that was left was a claw mark on edged into the wall and a single drop of blood by the door. It had hit him too suddenly.

This was only a day ago. And ever since that feeling of loss had struck him straight in the chest, he promised he would find her and bring her back safely. And with ease, he recruited Tenn and Ryuu, the other two mercenaries of the village. Well, they were also his companions since they did practically everything together. After hearing out the survivor's memories, they planned to wait outside at night  to greet the attacker and put a knife through the heart.

The two headed out of the house, passing by the drop of blood that hadn't been cleaned off for evidence's sake. Along the way walking down the cobblestone street, Ryuu joined them with a confident smile. Quite typical of him to try to brighten up the mood. 

Which didn't work for Gaku. To him, now was no time to feel content. 

Not until they retrieve Tsumugi.

* * *

Anesagi sat in a chair with a coffee table in between him and Mitsuki Izumi. The public didn't often get chances to see the village headman. Regularly, he was locked up inside of his fancy manor which was separated from the village by a gated path, possibly drinking refined wine and eating delicious gourmet (as it was rumored) the villagers could only dream of. 

The smugness in the headman's eyes clearly spoke that he was higher than everyone else and knew better. No one in the village liked him, but they displayed respect to him. Not once had he actually help the people of the village with this curse of a situation. It was supposed to be an honor for one to receive an invitation to Anesagi's manor because he never seemed to show himself. 

But it wasn't to Tenn, Gaku and Ryuu.

The three mercenaries often preformed vigorous operations for him. But none of those operations were to look into the incidents in the past month. Instead, they grabbed wine for him from other settlements across the country, protected and deliver messages. . . Basically they preformed all the tasks he gave them for more wealth than the average village baker. 

Unfortunately, they didn't get along well with the common villagers due to their duties under Anesagi. But ever since Gaku decided to invest himself into the situation after the disappearance of Tsumugi, the villagers started to respect them a bit more in hopes of a solution.

But there was something the villager's didn't know. As mercenaries, they were completely free of choice. Simply, they chose to preform Anesagi's requests for the good pay and hospitality of service in the manor. But in truth, they could deny any request. And in this case, they did. That's how they were able to start investigating into getting Tsumugi back and the prevention of any more incidents, even if it didn't concern Anesagi.

Tenn stood against the wall with Ryuu, his arms crossed. Gaku sat with Anesagi and Mitsuki. Across the room, the guards refused to let in a raven-haired male. Tenn figured it was someone in close relation to Mitsuki, though they shared no resemblance. The guards then closed the door and a silence filled the room.

"Now, Mitsuki. How is your injury?" Anesagi asked.

Mitsuki hesitated to answer. He fidgeted with his hands. "I've been healing just fine, thanks to my neighbors."

"That's good to hear. Now, before I begin the questionnaire, I'd like to tell you to keep everything said in this room confidential. Last thing we want is to cause any more panic in the village. Do you understand?"

Mitsuki didn't respond for a couple of moments. He seemed to be appalled. "B - But shouldn't we share information with the rest of the people. . ?"

"I'm afraid we don't need any uprise. My mercenaries here will be the only one's to have this information. You can trust them to rely on everything you say and handle the situation that's been terrorizing the village. If you don't follow these terms then I'm afraid I'll have to send them after you."

Tenn cringed at 'my mercenaries.' These words only reenforced the idea that they swore allegiance to him when it simply isn't the truth. He found it quite childish that the headman would use them as threats as if they were his dogs. But as a professional, he didn't say anything.

Mitsuki nodded slowly, agreeing to the terms. Clearly, he didn't want to though.

"Thank you," Anesagi grinned as if please with himself, "Now, tell us about what happened last night."

The male closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath.

* * *

_It was a creaking from the door that woke him up from his slumber. And immediately, Mitsuki knew what was happening. Or at least he had an idea. An idea that couldn't be any closer to the truth. The paranoia. He couldn't decide whether to lie still or take a look just to be sure. A drop of sweat rolls down the side of his face, his heartbeat fastened._

_Another creaking sounded. This time it's from the wooden floor._

_Instead of acting, he just trembled in fear uncontrollably. He tried to hold back his tears as he stealthily places a hand on his mouth to hold back any sound that wanted to escape from his throat which internally screamed for help._

_He tried to think. But how much time did he really have to waste on that? So far the incidents that have occurred where either stolen items or d - d - dead bodies. . . Tsumugi. The girl who was kidnapped so swiftly last night. His mind went wild, too fast. What happened to her? Would it happen to him or Iori tonight?_

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

_Crossing his fingers so tightly it hurted, he hoped it's just a stolen item this night. But he couldn't think of any item that could be important or of value in this household._

_He wondered if Iori is awake. He wanted to wake him, but at the same time not._ _What if the victim tonight would be his only relative? The thought haunted him, replaying back and forth. Over and over again._

_It was silent. The sound of movement had come to a halt. Perhaps the mysterious being had taken an item worth of value and left. Hopefully. But - That's. . . Waiting a couple of moments first, he then slowly turned his head to face what was behind him._

_What he saw dropped his heart down to the abyss._

_This is the end._

_Immediately, he sat up, pressing his back to the wall. It surprised him that he could even move._ _His whole body felt unstable, the tips of his fingers even shaking in freight. His heart pounded rapidly, heavily. His breathing became unstable, gasping, as if he was being choked._

_A gray wolf with ice-blue eyes growled at him in the darkness of his own home. It was so dark, it was difficult to make our how large it was. And before Mitsuki could react anymore, the wolf lunged._

_Where had his voice gone? He wanted to scream but it was halted at the tip of his tongue. A choke held him back. His own body had defied it's own instinct._

_An excruciating pain slashed through his chest. And that's when Mitsuki was finally able to let out a terrified scream louder and higher than he ever thought humanly possible. He clutched his chest, the shirt he wore in shreds, it feels soaked in a warm substance. It was dark, he couldn't see his own hands but he felt them getting stained._

_This is my end. I'm the victim. My brother is a victim._

_He let out a sob. The pain was too overwhelming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To start off, I have 2 chapters up plus the prologue uploaded. Starting next Friday, chapters will be uploaded weekly one by one.


	4. His Journey Is Just Starting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on ill be uploading 2 chapters every friday EST until we catch up w the actual story's pace.

_A heavy sack of coins thudded onto the wooden counter. "This is for you," the crimson-haired mercenary grinned at the maiden before him._

_"I don't know if I can accept this! You need your pay too, after all, you did risk your life," she said hesitantly. But of course, the desire for the coins in her eyes was too evident._

_He winked. "Don't worry about it! I got all the pay I need."_

_After all, he had just ambushed a few bandits with quite the loot in their pockets. According to the maiden, they had stolen luxuries from the town then ran off into woods a couple of nights ago. Since Riku happened to be on the go in search for a job and present in the town, he took on her request. It was an easy task surprisingly, the bandits weren't far from the village. Furthermore, they traveled by foot - likely the reason why they stole money in the first place. When he had found their camp of a bonfire and a couple of packs lying around, he hid in the trees silently until the night came where he took them out with ease, sent them running off, and came back to the town as a hero for returning jewels and coins._

_In return for his work, he got to keep a little less than half of the coins (which was still a large sum). Plus, the townspeople were generous enough to give him the coins which were of higher value since he was a traveler._

_The maiden's face went slightly pink, she took the coins and hide them in her dress in some way only a woman would know. "_ _So where do you plan on going next?"_

_"Honestly I have no idea," Riku laughed, "I guess I'll just follow the north path from here and see where it takes me!" After all, it's been like that for him ever since he had left the house in search of his brother who left a few years before. Along the way, he scavenged for quick jobs, became skillful with the knife, and eventually earned the title of a mercenary. Countless villages he's been to, though he didn't keep many souvenirs since his bags had to be light._

_". . ." She looked at him with disappointment._

_"Eh?" He cocked his head a little._

_"The north path leads to a village,_ Dénué v _illage, which is said to be cursed," Her voice grew cold._

How intriguing, _he thought. The sound of trouble is the sound of money. And possibly, the sound of his twin brother, who became a mercenary first, looking for a mission. . . Unlikely._

 _"No one ever goes on the north path, nor do many ever come from that direction. I don't know about_ Dénué _village, it's just a few days walk from here, but I've never been there." She sighed, "A couple of people from that village have escaped to this town in fear. There's been many stories, but mainly they said that people have been dying at night there."_

_"No way," Riku said, baffled. He hadn't expected any information this ludicrous to be thrown at him._

_"Anyway, I just wanted to caution you. Maybe it's better for you to go back and take another path." The maiden turned around to gather some bread from the baskets._

_The path to go back was quite long, it took him two weeks to make it here from the White City. He did recall seeing that the path branched out at some points._

_But something told him not to go back. For it was better to run towards something than away._

_"Thank you," he said with a smile, "But I'll be continuing on my way. I'm looking for something."_

_"Oh?" But by the time she had turned to face him with a bag of bread prepared, the mercenary had disappeared._

_He left spontaneously because he didn't want to be fed any more information that would hold him back. But perhaps that wasn't exactly the best idea. Less than a 4th of the way, the sun had set. Riku climbed up tree a just off the path and rested against the truck, shifting himself to maintain balance. With his bag on his lap, he opens it to realize he hadn't packed any more food._

_What a tough adventure this walk will be. . ._

 

* * *

 

"You mean people outside know of this village?!" Yamato almost shouted. Luckily, it was still early so the tavern hadn't had any more customers. It usually was much more crowded around noon, but lately for the past month it had been significantly more empty.

Riku shrugged. "I guess so?"

"And no help has been sent. . . Goddamnit," Yamato growled under his breath.

"No help whatsoever?"

"Not a bit. The villagers have been hiding and the mercenaries of our headman, Anesagi, are busy gathering wine for him 24/7."

Riku noticed Yamato's voice becoming more sour by the moment. He leaned in a bit, "Tell me about Dénué village, I'll handle it."

"Huh? By yourself? Oh not that it matters." And so, Yamato told the story, filling Riku in on the details and the pattern, including the exception of last night. "I was there - I found the two. . . The smaller guy had this horrible gash on his chest."

The mercenary could tell Yamato was getting colder and colder the more he spoke. While the information was peculiar and intriguing, he didn't want the air to become any heavier. So, he brought on a friendly suggestion, "How about going outside? Show me around!"

"Are you sure about that? You were just out asleep a couple of minutes ago—"

"I'm fine!" Riku gave him a thumbs up. He slid off the chair and threw his bag around his back.

Considering that the tavern would unlikely have any customers this early, Yamato gave in.

 

The two walked along the cobblestone path which cut directly through the middle of the village. It was quite a small village, only spit into two sides. Almost every structure was made of wood, which gave it the scent of being in the forest. Well, the woods were located right next to it after all.

They passed a bakery, restaurant, and multiple homes which looked rather tight if he had a look inside. Many villagers they passed stared at Riku, likely because he looked rather foreign with the bright red hair and heavy cloak. Feeling insecure, he pulls the hood over his head.

Yamato points at a larger structure. "That's the Inn. You should stay there for the nights. It's not very costly. Actually, it might be nice to settle that large pack in a room now to get that load off your back."

"I'll do that later, it's not too heavy." But oh boy that was a dead-flat lie. The pack felt like carrying boulders from the amount of coins he stored in there. He could feel Yamato's eyes travel to his pack, the lie was too clear.

"Oh, you might want to check this out," Yamato said. He turned off to the side and stopped in front of a rather cute store with books lined up at the window. "Literature from Dénué is pretty old-styled and . . . I guess you could say strange."

As they entered into the shop, Yamato whispered to Riku that the store owners were a little more on the strange side too.

Even though the only shelves were all lined up against the wall, it was still somewhat tight in the shop (which was only worsened with the large pack). Riku wondered why everything in Dénué was so close and squished together, as if there was a limit to how large the village could be. The books which were lined up on the shelves had age to them. It was clear, the shop owners didn't hold a shop to make profit.

"Oi!"

Riku shot his head to the counter. A bright-eyed male with mostly black-colored hair but white at the tips had arrived from the back. He looked rather friendly and welcoming. "Oh! Good morning."

"I'm Momo!" The shop owner said, "You must be the crimson mercenary!"

Caught by surprise, Riku placed a hand on his head, making sure the hood was still up. It was. "Oh - Has word spread somehow?"

Momo's mouth hung open for a moment. He then giggled, "Nope! I just heard that a red-haired foreigner was spotted. So I just assumed this foreigner with a hefty pack could be a mercenary." His laugh trailed off rather awkwardly.

"Is that so?" Riku grinned.

"Yup~!" Momo jumped over the counter, even though there was a mini gate to the side where he could have gone through. "We have a bunch of books here! And since you're a traveller, I'd like for you to have these. Perhaps you could pass them on. They're quite the pieces of work." As he rambled, he gathered a couple of books from the shelves, specific ones in which he knew exactly where they were located.

As the energetic male pushed the piled books to Riku's chest, Riku shook his head frantically, "I don't think I can, I have to travel light you see. . ."

"Well, just read them. Then return or give them away, it really doesn't matter. Free of charge!"

 _What a pushy one._ Riku sighed. He looked over at Yamato who just shrugged. So he takes the books and places them on the counter. Taking a bundle of coins from an invisible pocket hidden inside of his cloak, he placed them on the counter.

"Oh, shiny-! OW!"

A tall, silver-haired male had whacked Momo on the head behind the counter. "That'll be enough," he mumbled. He took the coins and bowed. Head down, he said, "Thank you, I'm sorry about my companion here. He's always on a sugar high. I'm Yuki."

"That's mean~!" Momo dragged, "I'm just an energetic wo—"

Yuki nudged him, cutting him off.

"Yeah, I had a lot of sugar today, I'm sorry." Momo facepalmed himself.

"It's fine!" Riku couldn't help but to giggle. While he found them silly; he also found them, just as Yamato had said earlier, 'a little more on the strange side.' He gathered the books, piling them on top of another. "Thank you!"

Momo and Yuki waved the two off as they headed out of the store, Momo being a lot more exaggerated.with his hand movements.

 

* * *

 

The shop was once again silent. Nothing new there. Dénué village rarely had travelers stop by, nor did the the villagers seem to care much for the literature they had. Except for Tsumugi. She often came by to borrow books and return them back in still brand-new condition.

"Did you give it to him?" Yuki asked.

"Yep! The one Tsumugi analyzed," Momo responded confidently.

"Good."

Momo flipped a coin up into the air, toying with it.

"You know," Yuki said, "We can't stay here for much longer after this. We should leave tomorrow."

Momo sighed "I know. I'm gonna miss this place."

"Me too. But people here think we're freaks."

"Because we are."

_Though, not in the way the they think._


	5. Brothers

The sun was setting. 

The villagers were heading back home and closing shop. The orange sky was no more than a warning call. The streets were already almost bare of people and life. It's like this every dusk now, that Dénué village became a ghost town.

Mitsuki and Iori were stuck in the "safety" of their home. Iori, who had whipped up instant soup for dinner, sat across from his older brother at the table. He watched the orange-haired male stir the liquid in the bowl with his spoon. "Don't worry about tonight. Just eat, it'll help the healing process," he said, trying to encourage although that isn't exactly his forté.

Mitsuki sighed, "I don't. . . I don't want the mercenaries to put themselves in danger because of me." His eyes, which were always full of expression, showed overwhelming anxiety. It looked like he was trying to hold back tears.

Iori pursed his lips, "But technically, they're not doing this for you. Remember Gaku said his objective is to retrieve Tsumugi." He spoke in a quieter tone, for the mercenaries could be anywhere around the house, possibly listening in.

While Mitsuki had made a deal not to let anyone else besides the mercenaries and Anesagi know what happened at the conference and last night, he had already broken it the moment they returned home. Iori knew to keep this a secret. The mercenaries were capable beings of Anesagi, it was possible they could place danger on anyone who knew the classified information. 

Mitsuki bumped his head on the table, obviously distressed. "I know. . . I'm just scared for them."

"Why? It's their job, they signed up for this."

"They're people too, Iori!"

Iori placed a finger on his lips to remind Mituski to keep the volume down. Deep down, he knew where Mitsuki was coming from. But he couldn't help it, to see the mercenaries as Anesagi's puppets. It worried him, that Mitsuki could do something reckless and put himself in more danger. 

He wouldn't allow that. Especially not after almost losing him once.

Tonight, the plan was being put into action. There was a chance, the wolf would come back tonight to finish off Mitsuki. Technically, the mercenaries were using him as bait. Iori of course, felt completely against the idea. But he had no say, since he wasn't supposed to know what was going on in the first place. 

"Mitsuki, I want you to get sleep tonight," Iori said. "I'll keep a lookout."

"I can't!" Mitsuki whispered rather loudly, so it was barely even one, "I - I want to go outside and help them -"

"No way! I am NOT letting you do that!" Iori almost shouted, "Are you crazy?!"

Mitsuki buried his face in his hands, tears drop down onto the table, "I feel so useless. . ."

A pain squeezed in Iori's chest. "I'm sorry," he says. Then adds after a couple of moments of silence, "Let's replace the bandages for tonight."

Mitsuki nodded. While Iori grabs the bandages off from a side shelf, he undoes his tunic and starts to unwrap the bandages wrapped around his chest.

There's a moment of silence while Iori also collects the disinfectant. As soon as he grabbed it, his brother's voice sounds, shaking slightly. "I can do it myself."

". . . Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, I know what I'm doing." 

Iori placed the bandages and disinfectant on the table. Mitsuki had turned away from him, facing the wall. He collected the dishes to wash, looking over occasionally to make sure everything was going smoothly. But his brother seemed to be hesitant in his moves. The used bandages were out of sight, settled in his lap most likely.

Eventually, Mitsuki stood up once the fresh bandages were wrapped on his chest. It was more sloppy than if Iori had done it, but doable. The used bandages were balled up, hidden in his hands, and thrown into a bag. He lied down on his bed and buried his head into a pillow.

Iori, done with the dishes, grabbed the fresh bandage roll and disinfectant from the table. Taking a glance at where Mitsuki was sitting, he noticed a drop of fresh blood on the floor. But he didn't question it.

 

* * *

 

The Inn was dark. It had some sort of unsettling vibes to it. Even though the walls were polished and smooth, the wood it was built out of was of a dark shade. The room was rather tight, in which Riku felt he had to get used to if he were to stay here for some time, but at least it was clean. 

The Inn manager seemed caught off guard when he had arrived. Likely because customers were sparse. And so, he paid her extra the amount in generosity. 

Riku slid the pack off from his back, releasing the weight felt much more free. He flopped onto the bed, letting out a large sigh.  _'So tonight,'_  he thought, _'an incident will happen.'_ He wondered if it'll be him. That would be terribly unfortunate. He wondered if his brother is in Dénué village. It was unlikely, since it's dangerous here and hardly heard of.

Drained of energy, he closed his eyes. But he didn't got to sleep. Tonight, he planned to go out and see the threat itself. If the village locked itself up every night when the threat came, there is no way they could find out who or what it was.

A series of voices sound from outside of the Inn, one of which catches his attention. 

_'Tenn-ni?!'_

Riku darted to the window to see across the street, three males in cloaks walking down the street. Each of them have a sword by their side, two of them with hoods on which covered their face. The one without a hood had silver hair that stood out in the dusk. Other than those three, the street was completely empty of other people.

It was getting darker outside by the second. He figured that since they were casually talking, they weren't exactly the village's threat. But they were definitely different compared to the average villager. The cloak told him they could also be mercenaries or guards.

_'No. It can't be him. I'm just on edge. . . It's been too long.'_

Riku settled back onto the bed and picks up one of the books. The cover had a painting of a young boy with light purple hair surrounded by dark trees. He flipped it over to read the back, which had the blurb. 

_"A young boy who wandered into the woods many years ago._

_Legend says he's still out there. . . Never to return home the same."_

It read. 

 _'How peculiar,'_  Riku thought. Why would this book be given to him? What importance did it have? He picked up the second book. This one had no decorated cover at all, just a blank, gray cloth. He flipped it over.

_"The crimson mercenary destined to save the maiden from her misery."_

The rest of the words were etched out by age. Riku dropped the book onto the bed. _'Crimson mercenary. . . Couldn't that be me?'_

No. It couldn't be. The only reason this book could've been recommended to him was because of it was about a character who had the same title.  _Crimson mercenary._  Riku shook his head. "Snap out of it! Stop overanalyzing things," he told himself.

Looking out the window once again, he noticed it is almost pitch-black outside. Time to go out for a walk.

 

* * *

 

"Last night when the attack happened, it was around midnight to one," Gaku said. "We'll have to wait a couple of hours."

"Maybe you should get some rest," said Ryuu, "I'll wake you in an hour. The wolf wouldn't come this early anyways."

"No. No sleeping on the job."

"We're mercenaries," Tenn butted in, "Technically, we solve the situation however we want to."

"Tenn, shut up. If you want to sleep then fine. I'm not."

After taking a couple of short laps around Dénué village, the three were getting sick of seeing the same empty street and boarded up structures. The only thing about the scenery that changed was the transition from sunset to night. They stopped by the only shop which still had it's lights on, illuminating a small part of the village. It appeared to be a bookstore with the line of books on display at the window.

Tenn entered into the bookstore, leaving Ryuu and Gaku without a word.

"Ah!" A male with black and white hair who's sitting behind the counter greeted them, "Welcome! We usually don't get customers at this hour."

"How come you're not boarding up the house?" Tenn asked.

"Hm? Because there's no need to!"

"There's a threat to this village, haven't you heard of it?"

"Yuup! But this is a safe haven! Are you a mercenary? You should run here if you're ever need to hide."

". . ." Tenn didn't respond. He wasn't sure how the only lit-up house could be a safe haven in the dark. 

"You don't get it? Here look, we got garlic," the male pointed at the garlic strings hanging at the door. 

Tenn shook his head. What a waste of time. This guy was clearly some sort of superstitious freak. "Good night," he said as he exited the shop.

"Good luck!" The shopkeeper shouted out to him as the door shuts.

Tenn stood against the wall of another store, keeping away from the light and making sure he was more hidden in the shadows. Gaku and Ryuu were nowhere in sight, they've likely continued on patrolling. He crossed his arms, still keeping the hood of the cloak on. Now, it's time to wait. 

But something caught his eye from across the street. A person with a cloak and a large pack on their back making their way down the street. The hood is covering their head so it's hard to see who it is. But definitely, it wasn't Gaku or Ryuu by the lack of sword and design on the cloak. 

How peculiar. 

Without hesitation, Tenn crossed to the other side of the village, following the figure. The only people who are supposed to be outside were the three mercenaries, he had to clear up any misunderstandings. 

"Stop. Reveal yourself," he demanded. As a professional, being aggressive was always the appropriate tone.

The person stopped in their path. They turned around slowly and slid off the hood to reveal bright crimson-red hair. 

Tenn felt his heart stop for a moment. He knew exactly who it was. And the male knew exactly who he was. And at that moment, he wished he hadn't stopped this male. Too many questions came to him. 

"Tenn-ni. . ?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha. Definitely not the first time I've ended a chapter like this before - Rip.  
> Also I love the differences between Mitsuki + Iori and Riku + Tenn as brothers. HHHH


	6. Answers Out of Reach

"Tenn-ni. . ?!" 

Riku felt at a loss of words. Had it been 5 or 4 years since he's seen his brother before his eyes? And now, here he was, face to face with him. 

Memories flooded into his mind, as if the chest which withheld them had been unlocked. From the moments they played together out in the field, the times they cried, sang, until the day his brother had left the household with no warning. He remembered that day too well. The heartbreak he felt, the worry, all as if it happened yesterday. He remembered the sounds of his crying mother.  _'All men leave the house eventually,'_  she would say,  _'but I never imagined it to be like this.'_

The threatening expression on Tenn's face vanished and shifted to astonishment. And perhaps, in the purse of his lips, a tang of chagrin. Tenn had always been difficult to read. But much time has passed. And the look in his eyes has changed to something even Riku couldn't recognize.

"Riku," Tenn said grimly, "What are you doing here."

"Tenn-ni. . . I should be asking you that," Riku's voice was hoarse, "Where have you been this whole time?"

Tenn glared at him, "You shouldn't be here."

"What do you m -"

Suddenly, the tip of a sword is pointed at Riku's throat, cutting him off. Tenn had moved with such speed, he couldn't even see it coming. It threw him off guard, knocking his balance off. Luckily, he managed to only take a step back and hold himself together. 

"Leave. You have no business here." Tenn said, the scowl on his face broke something in Riku, it hurt, deep down.

Riku couldn't respond. It shocked him that his own brother had put a sword at his neck. It shocked him so much, he started to tremble. Was it fear? Sadness? Maybe a mix of both. He couldn't tell, and that only confused him more. 

Too many questions invaded his mind. What was Tenn wearing? The cloak had some sort of design on it, which meant he was working for someone or part of an organization. Where had he gotten the sword from? For what did he need it for and who gave it to him? And what scared him the most was the thought that his brother could be putting himself in danger. Especially since he was armed and outside at night. . . 

Tenn sheathed his sword. His glance moved from Riku to the side. As if he had saw something that alarmed him, Riku was pushed off to the side with such quick force he couldn't react in time. 

Riku slammed onto the cobblestone, luckily his arms had landed on the ground first, protecting his head. Pain seared throughout his body, he let out a small yelp. The hood flew back over his head, blocking his field of vision.

The sound of boots approaching could be heard. 

"Oi, who's this?" asked a low, mature voice.

"The attacker?" asked another.

"No, he's just a traveler. Send him inside. I don't want him getting in the way of our task," replied Tenn. 

"Got quite the heavy pack on him doesn't he. Are you sure he's not the one who has been stealing valuables from the village?" the low voice said.

"Yes. He's just arrived after a long trip, I mistook him for a threat at first but then realized he's just some peddler stopping by. Perhaps we should take him to the Inn."

Riku, lying still as if he were knocked out but still breathing, couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tenn was covering for him. A force at his throat, cut off his breath for a moment as he was lifted up to his knees. The hood over his head was thrown off. A gasp was heard.

Riku squinted into the night's dusk. He saw himself face to face with an older silver-haired male, and in the back, Tenn and a brown-haired male stood. They were likely the three he had saw earlier from the window. 

"You. . ." The silver-haired male said, his voice trailing off. His eyes widened. 

It was as if he had realized something. 

 

* * *

 

"Goddamnit, Tenn!" Gaku shouted. "A peddler, huh?! What sort of ridiculous lie?"

Still out in the open air of the night, the three huddled around the red-haired male who had been dropped to the ground, on his knees using his hands as support. He coughed. The large pack which was on his back had been thrown off and emptied, coins scattered all around.

"What sort of peddler has this many coins?" Gaku continued on, clearly infuriated. "The cloak, the knife at his waist. . . This kid is a goddamn mercenary!"

"G - Gaku! There's no need to shout -" Ryuu said. 

"I not fond of my own allies lying to me," he shot back. "Tenn, care to explain yourself?"

Tenn had his arms crossed on his chest, he replied glumly, "I didn't think it mattered. Just send him off on his way the next day."

"Oh? It doesn't matter huh? Well, it matters to me! Look at his hair." Gaku grabbed a small bunch of the mercenary's hair, who winced. 

"So?" replied Tenn. He obviously didn't see the significance. Or maybe he was acting like he didn't know. It didn't matter either way. 

Ryuu gasped, "It couldn't be. . ."

"The crimson mercenary Tsumugi had predicted to come." Gaku said, his voice lowered at the thought of her. It hurt him, every time he mentioned her. It was just more of a reminder that she wasn't present in this village and her whereabouts were still unknown. He felt a squeeze in his chest but held his composure. 

"It could just be a coincidence. Don't jump to conclusions." Tenn retorted blandly.

It annoyed Gaku, how Tenn was trying to dismiss the mercenary. He couldn't shake off the idea that Tenn was hiding something. "He's still worth trying, perhaps he knows something we don't." Gaku tossed the mercenary back to the ground. "But let's not be sidetracked. I don't want to miss -"

It was perfect. Too much of a coincidence. The moment he looked out to the end of the village, which was only a few meters from where they stand, a flash of short, glowing hair shone under the moonlight. The human-like figure shot behind a building, the cape attached waving after it. 

"SHIT!" Gaku darted to where the figure headed, his heart pounding. What was that? It happened so fast, he couldn't even tell if it had actually happened. By the time he turned the corner, the figure had already darted into the woods which was located right beside the village on one side. He could only catch an impression of the figure as they jumped over logs and weaved through the trees at such a inhumane speed, it was a blur. The moonlight reflected glimpses of red and white off the figure until they disappeared into the shadows.

He cursed, falling down to his knees. Regret washed over him, the tears slipped. His own distraction had lost him what could have possibly been the answer to Tsumugi's disappearance.

 

* * *

 

 

Tenn and the brown-haired mercenary ran off after the silver-haired male, calling after him. Riku, now left alone started to gather his coins as fast as his hands could possibly hold and throw into his bag. But it was dark, many of the further scattered coins were hard to spot.

His mind wandered. What had just happened? What did the silver-haired male mean by 'the crimson mercenary. . . predicted to come.' It confused him too much. First the book given to him, then this. Frustrated, Riku shook his head to clear his mind. It was best to wait for the answers instead of fretting over it. 

"Uhm, do you need help?" 

A high male's voice surprised Riku, causing him to jolt back a bit. He looked up and squinted into the dark to spot an orange-haired male leaning down just before him.

"Oh - You shouldn't be out -"

"What was all of that commotion?" He interrupted, gathering the more scattered coins anyways.

Riku didn't know how to respond. Telling by the male's casual tunic, he seemed to be any ordinary villager, around the same age. It was best not to get him involved. So instead of saying anything, he simply shook his head and continued to gather coins.

"Mitsuki!" Another male approached, this one with dark hair. "You can't be out here. It's dangerous!"

Riku assumed this 'Mitsuki' was the boy in front of him. 

"It's fine, the commotion is over." Mitsuki replied. He held out a pile of coins in his hands to Riku.

"Ah - No, it's fine. You can keep those." Riku waved his hands, dismissing the boy. He gathered the last of the coins in sight and into his pack.

"Eh? But it's money. . ." 

Riku smiled at him, giving off the message indirectly that he didn't really need it.

Mitsuki's face lit up a bit. Villagers weren't in the slightest bit wealthy, he definitely needed it more than Riku did.

The dark-haired male tapped Mitsuki and urged him to get a move. Mitsuki, stood up next to the male, waved before heading away, "Stay safe," he said.

Riku waved back, he couldn't help the genuine smile. Villager's are awfully kind aren't they. Riku sealed his pack and headed down the path, back to the Inn. He had only been outside for less than an hour and things already had fell to chaos. 

When he had arrived back in the tight room, he dropped the pack onto the floor and sat on the bed, yawning. For a day, he hadn't gotten any sleep or food. Fortunately, the lack of food hadn't taken too much of a toll on him. He had built up a tolerance to hold his hunger since travelers often didn't have an abundance of food on them. 

Looking off to the side, where he had left the books, he noticed they weren't there. Had he misplaced them? Riku slid off the bed and checked around under the bed. But it was pitch black under the bed, so he grabbed a mini flashlight from his pack (which he didn't often have to use) and flashed it under the bed. Nothing. After a thorough check of the rest of the room, he switched the flashlight off. 

He hadn't brought the books with him when he went outside. The only place they could've been was here in the room. The only plausible explanation Riku eventually came to struck him with fear. Someone had been in here while he was out. The books were stolen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I definitely have a bunch in store for all of the characters but some of them have more hidden motives which can't be revealed until later so Riku is the main focus right now >< Three more I7 characters haven't shown up. I'm sure you know who - They'll be coming along.~


	7. Who Belongs Here

The first thing Riku did when he woke up that morning was let out a sigh of relief. He found himself completely unharmed aside from the scratches inflicted on him from being knocked onto the cobblestone that night. Then the question hit him, one that drained the relief from him. If the threat hadn't come for him, then who? 

As if in a rush, he hopped out of bed. The morning light leaking through the window provided him with a spark of hope. He pulled up the blanket and pillow, nothing hidden. Checking under the bed once again like he had that night, there was nothing. So it had really happened. The books were stolen. 

He grabbed his pack which is heavily filled with unorganized coins since they were just thrown in after being dumped out. And after slipping on his boots, he swung open the door of the room.

_'Time to get to business.'_

An awkward growl sounded.

 _Nope._ He facepalmed himself in utter disappointment. He had to get some food first for sure.

 

"Anything - seriously. Anything fast!" Riku almost begs to Yamato who is making some sort of confused yet excited expression. 

Yamato nodded, "Okay, got it." Then he gets off to work in the back.

Riku sighed, he placed his hands on his stomach and rested his head on the table. "How have I even survived the past couple of days. . . I'm so hungry."

The doorbell at the tavern entrance rung. Tapping is heard on the wooden floor as someone enters in. Riku sat up, it would be silly if other people saw him in his current state.

"Riku." 

Riku turned at the sound of his name to see Tenn approaching him. He's no longer wearing the cloak. The clothes he wore were more well-fitting than the typical villager's. Clearly, he worked for someone who provided a proper uniform. And that only brought on more questions.

Tenn didn't sit next to him, rather he stood off to Riku's side. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting food," Riku mumbled. He didn't face Tenn, the tone felt unwelcoming.

"In Dénué village." Tenn clarified.

". . ." Riku didn't know how to answer that. He had only landed here because the north path from the previous town had brought him here. There was no specific purpose for his arrival aside from his initial objective which he didn't want to say, not after the warm greeting he had received yesterday.

"You shouldn't stay here. Leave the village before night." Tenn said harshly.

"Tenn-ni -"

"You have no business here."

Riku clenched his fists, trying to hold back the stress levels that were poking at him. "Why?! Why are you trying to separate us again?!"

Tenn's stern expression didn't flinch. "Dénué village is dangerous. Don't get yourself involved."

"What - Should I just continue on then, without at least trying to help while these people here suffer some mysterious threat?" Riku felt a squeeze in his throat. He couldn't help but to raise his voice. 

"I'm not sure what you know, but I know you know far less than I do. Gaku, Ryuu, and I are working on the case professionally. Last thing we need is for you to get in our way. Stay out of it. You don't even have a motive to solve it."

Those words pierced through Riku as if an icicle had dropped on his chest. Tenn's cold words had sent him to silence. What was his motive? 

Tenn turned his back, "Leave. I don't want to see you outside tonight." And with that, he exits the tavern. Not even a goodbye was said.

Riku placed his arms on the counter and drooped his head. Was this really Tenn? The vibes he gave off were as if he were a stranger. Someone completely different than the Tenn he had used to know so well. It hurt Riku, every single one of his words. Burying his face into his hands, he wiped away the tears he had been holding back. 

_'Tenn-ni. . . I've been looking for you this whole time. And this is how it is?'_

 

* * *

 

This morning, there was no report of an attack or stolen valuables. That brought Gaku to believe that it was possible that he had chased off the attacker for that night, the figure that had ran into the words. If that was even the attacker. There was no way to tell. But he had an idea to find these answers.

Over the short periods in which he stayed in Dénué village instead of going out on a mission for Anesagi, he went out and explored the village to get to know it more. Eventually he had heard the bookstore keepers were some sort of freaks by the common villager. 

Tsumugi believed differently though. She often came back from their store with books in her hands. Then, after reading them, she would return them back. Gaku had asked her a couple of times, what the books were about. In which she would reply with some answer regarding supernatural themes such as vampires, werewolves, and curses. Gaku thought she was just into those fictional themes for her own pleasure. 

Until one day it had went too far. She announced to the town that a crimson mercenary would arrive one day to save the village.

Some people laughed. Some people listened. Most people brushed it off. Perhaps she had too much to drink that day, one would suggest. That night, Gaku asked to see the book that she had read which influenced her to believe such a thing. But she had already returned it. 

He held her in his arms on the bed that night and told her to get some rest. In response, she asked him if he believed her. In which Gaku responded with, 'Just get some sleep.' And by morning, she was gone.

Just a day later, a mercenary of crimson hair showed up. Suddenly, he found a bit of faith. 

Today, his plan was to find that book and speak with the bookstore keepers. He wanted to know what their relationship with Tsumugi was and what they knew about her that he didn't. What had she been reading?

Gaku entered into the bookstore followed by Ryuu. "Excuse us."

The bookstore's shelves were filled with books, though between sparse books were open spaces in which books had fallen over. The sign outside stuck on the door had read, 'We're closing! Bye!' but it really didn't seem like they were.

A black and white haired male popped his head out from under the counter. He was presumably the shopkeeper. "Ah! Hello! Unfortunately, we're just wrapping up our packing to leave Dénué village. Though if you'd like to buy -"

Gaku cutted him off, "I'm here for answers." He didn't buy into the cheerful face which was printed on the shopkeepers features. He knew, this man was holding secrets. 

". . . Eh?" The shopkeeper blinks in confusion.

"You know exactly what I am talking about." Gaku stood in front of the counter, crossing his arms. "Let us sit down and talk for a moment, shall we?"

Another male, silver-haired one, stepped out from the backroom. "State your business. "

"Ah! Yuki!" The shopkeeper greeted. He turned to Gaku and Ryuu, "I'm Momo and this is Yuki. I'm not sure what we can provide you but we'd be happy to help under certain conditions."

"And what are those?"

Momo grinned, "You can't tell anyone else what you learn here."

 

A few minutes later, Gaku, Ryuu, and Tenn stood in the tight backroom of the store. Momo and Yuki sat in the rather comfy looking chairs which the cushions were a deep red. In between them, a coffee table with two packs rested. A single candle sat on the coffee table between the two packs. 

The backroom was quite full, it certainly didn't look like anyone was packing up anything. No boxes nor luggages were in sight. Towers of books were stacked up in an untidy manner against the wall. One wrong step and chaos would happen. But the ominous thing about this backroom was how lowly lit it was. The candle was the only light source. 

Gaku felt uneasy in such a strange atmosphere. He had heard that the bookstore keepers were freaks but the villagers had likely never seen the backroom that only confirmed their suspicions. But, he kept his serious composure that only meant business despite getting the internal chills.

"Sorry about the mess," Momo laughed, "You see, we never get visitors. Nor were we expecting any."

Gaku cleared his throat, "Now, shall we proceed?"

"Mhm.~" Momo sat back, getting comfy. 

"You must know Tsumugi."

"Ohh yes!"

Gaku's throat tightened, "A day before she disappeared, she said that a crimson mercenary would show up. This was influenced from a book that she had read here."

"That crimson mercenary has already showed up. Unfortunately, if you're looking for that book, he has it!" 

Gaku paused. Was Momo saying that the red-haired mercenary from last night had the book which Tsumugi had harvested the idea from? There was too much of a coincidence there. Perhaps she was right after all. Suddenly, guilt washed over him. He wished he had listened to her every single word. 

Taking a glance over at his companions, Ryuu had his mouth hung open in surprise while Tenn seemed to be in shock. ' _Damn right_ ,' thought Gaku, ' _if I had believed Tenn's words about the mercenary being a peddler then we would've missed something crucial.'_

"Last night," Gaku brought up a new topic which conveniently followed his trail of thought. Considering his new circumstances of Tsumugi, he wanted to dig deeper into her words. "I saw something strange. It was dark so I couldn't exactly pinpoint exactly what it was but it looked like a human figure. This figure ran off into the woods at such a speed it was a blur. Faster than any animal I've ever seen."

"Ohh, exciting!" Momo commented. His enthusiasm seemed fake.

"I came to you two today because I have this feeling that you two know what's going with this curse-like situation the village is going through." He looked over at Tenn.

Tenn nodded at Gaku, he then looked at Momo. "When I visited last night, you said that this bookshop is a safe haven. Mind to explain that?"

Momo clicked his fingers, "Finally! We've been waiting for someone to ask. Yes, this bookshop is indeed a safe haven. We have garlic here, you see? At the door?"

"And what's the significance of some garlic?" Tenn asked. 

Gaku listened in carefully. He could feel Tenn's embarrassment asking such a question. After all, it did sound ridiculous.

"Garlic wards off vampires!" Momo smiled.

There was a silence in the room. Gaku felt baffled. Perhaps they shouldn't have come here. The idea of vampires felt completely childish and unrealistic to him. He didn't believe in such supernatural beings. 

But Tsumugi did. So he didn't want to deny it immediately.

He notices Tenn bite his lip. He must've been trying to hold back a negative response. A professional, as he is.

"How could we believe you there?" Gaku asked sternly.

Momo looked over at Yuki, who nodded. 

Yuki turned to look directly over at the three mercenaries. In a grim manner, he parted his lips which bared his teeth. And past those thin lips of his, two longer, sharp fangs were visible across from each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware this chapter is written horribly I'm sorry;


	8. A Flower Bonds

"Ah! You're the one from last night!" A familiar voice called out through the now quarter-full tavern. 

Riku's attention turned behind him to see Mitsuki, the boy who had helped him gather coins at night until an acquaintance of his had brought him back inside. "Oh! Mitsuki right?" He greeted.

The orange-haired male sat next to him at the counter, "Yup! That's me." 

Yamato approached the two. He took Riku's empty plate which once had a warm sandwich on it in one hand and waved at Mitsuki with the other. "Oi! Mitsuki. Hows your injury healing? You seem alright."

Mitsuki smiled, "Just fine. Thank you." He grabs a menu which was already settled on the counter while Yamato gives him a thumbs up then heads to the back. After scanning the menu for a moment, he looks up at Riku, more specifically the beverage in front of him. "What's that drink? It looks good."

Riku picked up the colored drink in front of him, "Oh, it's just a cocktail." He had chosen an alcoholic drink since he needed to cheer up a bit after Tenn had just confronted him, telling him to leave Dénué village so suddenly. It had hit him hard. Nothing like a good drink to lower down those stress levels. 

"Hm, I'll get that one then."

"Eh?" Riku tilted his head slightly, "Aren't you kinda young?"

"Huh? I'm 21!"

That threw Riku off for a moment.  _'But he looks so young!'_ This meant that he was older than. . . He nearly facepalmed himself. "I'm sorry! I just assumed so because you're - I mean -" 

Mitsuki bursted into laughter, he waved his hand back and forth, "Don't worry about it! I get that a lot."

As Mitsuki ordered the cocktail to Yamato, Riku awkwardly takes a sip of the cocktail, he felt his face getting a bit hot.  _'How embarrassing.'_ He cleared his throat, "An - Anyways, what wound was Yamato talking about? Are you the one who survived the attack one night?" He didn't mean to be nosy but he figured this boy could hold some importance in volunteered case. Under the boy's loose tunic, a bandage could be seen right next to and under his shoulder.

"Ah, yeah that was me." Mitsuki said, "Pretty rough that night but I'm all good now."

"That's good to hear," Riku replied. He debated for a quick second whether to tell him about himself or not.  _'Eh, might as well. Maybe I could help this guy out.'_ "I'm Riku by the way," he introduced himself, "A traveling mercenary."

"A mercenary?" Mitsuki gasped, "You don't work with Gaku and his accomplices do you? I haven't seen you around."

"Gaku. . . The silver-haired one?" Riku said, "No. I don't."

Yamato settled the cocktail in front of Mitsuki, who thanked him. Mitsuki took a quick sip of the drink, he looked as if he's contemplating something. Letting go of the straw, he asked, "Are you here for wolf which has been terrorizing this village?"

"Well," Riku hesitated to respond. He honestly wasn't so sure himself. He had meant to check it out but on his first night, it hadn't worked out as he had expected. He thought of Tenn-ni, who wanted to rid him of the village. "I'm not sure. I'm not informed enough to help."

Mitsuki frowned. His expressions sure were evident, they basically said everything he was thinking. "So are you leaving or staying?"

"I plan to leave tonight." Riku said even though he hadn't really made that decision until just as he spoke those words. He felt bad saying it. Truly, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to help the village. He wanted to resolve things with Tenn-ni and to hear him out. He wanted to make sure Tenn was safe on his mission. But he felt like a burden to Tenn for just being present. Suddenly overwhelmed in anguish again, he took another sip of the cocktail.

Mitsuki's eyes were on Riku. He raised a brow and then sighed. Riku's state was pretty obvious. 

"How about this," Mitsuki said, "Let's go out today. Since it's your last day, I'll show you something nice."

"Oh - If it doesn't bother you. . ." Riku wiped away the small tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes. Luckily they hadn't fallen yet. He didn't mean to lose his composure. He had embarrassed himself enough for today.

"Definitely not!" Mitsuki chugged down the rest of his drink and hopped off the seat. He dug into his pocket and dropped a couple of coins onto the counter which Riku wondered if they're the ones from last night. "C'mon!"

He nodded, taking the last sip of the cocktail and placed a couple of coins onto the counter, combining it with Mitsuki's. And together, they walked out of the tavern. 

Riku walked behind Mitsuki, his head full of Tenn's words.  _'You don't have a motive.'_  It echoed over and over. ' _You don't have a motive.'_   He rememberd how Tenn had pointed the tip of his sword at him just moments after they had reunited. His heart ached just thinking about it. It was like Tenn had really stabbed him. 

"Oi! Riku!" Mitsuki interrupted his trail of thought. "Snap out of it!" The smaller male is now beside him, pouting. 

"Oh - I'm sorry." Riku shaked his head and bumps it with his hands a bit, as if trying to knock out the thoughts. "I just have things on my mind." 

And speaking of things in mind. . .

"Oh!" Riku remembered, "I need to visit the bookshop really quickly."

"Hm? Sure, not a problem." Mitsuki agreed.

The two headed off to the bookshop together which is located near the edge of the village. Though a certain sign on the door caught their attention. 

"Ehhh?! They're closed?!" Riku whined, "What luck." And it was somewhat suspicious. First his books were stolen and now the shop is closed.  _'Could there be some correlation?'_

_'No. No way. That'd be silly. Stop overthinking!'_

"Oh. That's kinda sudden." Mitsuki commented. "I've never bought anything from here before because their books are more focused on supernatural tales. And they're kinda strange. Really, the only person I've seen go in there is Tsumugi, the girl who disappeared. I guess they didn't make enough profit."

Riku placed his hand on the doorknob and pulled it out. "There might be a chance, they could still be here."

"H - Hey! Isn't that trespassing?" Mitsuki huffed. Regardless, he followed Riku into the shop.

Surprisingly enough, the shelves were still almost completely full of books. Perhaps they hadn't gotten to packing them yet. No one was at the counter. He figured the Momo and Yuki would be in the back.

While Mitsuki checked out the shelves of books, sliding his finger across the spines, Riku called out for the shopkeepers. 

A couple of seconds later, Momo jumped out from the backroom. He closed the door behind him. "Why if it isn't the crimson mercenary himself!" 

Riku laughed lightly. While the title was frequently used for him, he still wasn't used to people greeting him with such enthusiasm as if he was some sort of legend. 

"Hey Momo. I was wondering if you had another copy of the books you gave me yesterday. You see. . ." He wondered whether to be direct or not. It would probably be hard to believe they were stolen on the day given to them. It sounded like a cover-up for saying he had lost it. "They were stolen."

"Huh?! Stolen - Oh my. Have you read them?" 

"Er - Nope. . ." Riku said nervously, "I haven't gotten to that yet."

"Unfortunately each book only has one copy of itself here." Momo sighed, "Stolen huh? That's quite unfortunate. Do you know by who?"

Riku shook his head. "When I returned to the Inn last night, they were gone."

Behind those closed doors, little did Riku have a clue that Tenn and the two other mercenaries had overheard the situation.

 

* * *

 

Once again, Mitsuki and Riku were walking beside each other. This time, it was outside of the village and down the smooth dirt  of the north path. One side of the path had the woods just a couple of meters off, and the other, a clear field of grass. And in the behind the field, a series of hills poking out. It was still daytime, the sun was bright, it seemed to drain away all of Mituski's worries just for this moment. The breeze felt relaxing, brushing against his cheek ever so slightly.

Mitsuki found himself lost in thought as they walked in silence. The mercenaries books were stolen, as he had said. And there was no report of any attack or theft this morning. Could it be possible that the wolf had come for Riku's books? 

"Did those books have any importance to them?" He asked.

"Uhm, not that I know of. . ." Riku repliesd, "I guess it might've - It's strange. One of them mentioned a crimson mercenary."

"And that's you!" Mitsuki said. He recalled the day when Tsumugi had announced that a crimson mercenary would come to save the village, holding a book in her arms. Suddenly, he felt a spark of hope. Could it be him? The odds were too coincidental.

"I - I don't know!" Riku said frantically, "I have no idea! And it's been getting at me for the past day. And everything else that has been going on since I arrived here." He buried his face in his hands, "It's all too stressful."

Mitsuki wasn't sure what the mercenary had been through, but it sure felt like a lot by his reaction. The distress reeking from the male was awfully heavy. He decided not to mention that his books were likely the victim of last night's threat, that could be saved for another time when he had gotten ahold of himself. Or maybe never, since he was leaving in a few hours time. He looked out into the scenery before them. A mix of green and purple could be seen off in the near distance. "Hey! We're almost there. C'mon!" He ran off ahead.

"H - Hey!" Riku chased after him.

But it wasn't long until Mitsuki heard panting behind him. He stopped in his tracks and turns around. "Oh, are you okay?" He asked, seeing that the mercenary had to stop, place his hands on his knees, and gasp for air.

"Y - Yeah." Riku said between pants, "I just get tired easily."

"I'm sorry!" Mitsuki approached the male and gave him a reassuring pat on the back, "Let's walk there instead. We're almost there anyway." 

He wondered why the mercenary had lost his breath so easily. Didn't mercenaries often travel by foot from place to place and do vigorous work for money? Well, he did have a large and heavy looking pack on his back and a cloak. Anyone's physical ability would be halted having to carry things. He then realizes he should have been more considerate.

After a couple more minutes of walking which he noticed Riku still had to draw in deeps breaths from time to time, Mitsuki stopped. "We're here!"

In front of them, on one side of the path, a field of grass and purple flowers which extended out into the distance. 

"Pretty huh?" Mitsuki commented.

Riku doesn't say anything. He stepped forward towards a patch of flowers peaking out through the tall grass. He gently moved the grass off to the side like curtains to reveal the flowers hidden behind them. They looked like purple butterflies from afar but like bells up close. Within the safety of the petals, yellow strings of pollen tangled together.

Mitsuki crouched down next to him. "I've never picked one before, they're just too pretty to remove from nature." He reached out through the grass.

"No!"

The mercenary pulls his hand back with such speed, it startled him. "Wh - What are you doing?"

"This flower," Riku said, "It's deadly poisonous."

"Huh?!" Mitsuki was taken back by his words. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not. It's Aconitum. Also known as the Wolf's Bane."

"Wolf's Bane. . ?" He had never heard of it before. The name sounded awfully intimidating.

Riku nods, "Legend says the Wolf's Bane has the power to ward off wolves and even kill them. But it can also kill humans."

Mitsuki held back his breath. Memories of that night came back to him. The ice-shot blue eyes. The breathy growling. The devastating fear. He could relive it too well. His voice turned cold, "I was attacked by a wolf that night."

Riku's shot his glance to meet Mitsuki's. Instantly, they both knew what was coming to mind.

"Riku," Mitsuki said, his tone now more serious. "Stay here in Dénué village. You're the prophesied crimson mercenary."

The mercenary bit his lip, he stared straight into Mitsuki's orange eyes, and nodded. "Okay. Let's figure this out, together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 and finally, Riku is building up a support


	9. Wolves of the Woods

"Tonight, you two are staying here." Gaku said. The expression in which he held is steady and serious. In front of him, the two bookshop keepers stared at him in dismay.

The white-and-black-haired male's jaw dropped. He sat up from the chair, firmly placing his bare feet against the floor. "Ehh?! But we really have to get going!" His fist closed in on itself, balling up.

"And for what exactly?" Gaku asked. Though it wasn't exactly a legitimate question since he knew there wouldn't be an answer.

". . ." Momo didn't respond. His jaw, still hanging open, seemed to be holding itself back. Next to him, Yuki took ahold of his hand as if for reassurance.

"Exactly," said Gaku. "You're hiding something crucial. And I'm afraid we can't let that slide."

"But I've told you so much haven't I? We're literally on your side - I think there must be some sort of misunderstanding!" Momo cocked his head like a questioning dog. 

Tenn stood at the open door of the bookshop backroom. He tapped on the glass of the watch around his wrist. Gaku nodded at him, getting the message.  _Time to head out._ He turnded to his brown-haired companion, "Ryuu. You will watch these two tonight. Stand outside the door."

Ryuu nodded frantically, "Yes!"

Looking down at the floor to watch his step of the mess of books, Gaku exited the backroom to join up with Tenn who held up his cloak for him. He threw on the cloak and together, they left the shop. The sunlight had diminished, the moon taking it's place. No one was on the street. Night had arrived.

Gaku stood against the wall of the shop. He pressed a finger to his chin in thought.

One of the shopkeepers was a vampire, Yuki. There was no behavioral proof, only physical evidence of the fangs. Gaku didn't know much of the stereotypical fictional vampires besides that they fed on human blood, which typically came from the woman protagonist. Furthermore, the idea of realistic vampires sounded absolutely absurd. It sounded like child's play. 

But to be cautious, he had decided to keep the shopkeepers contained inside. It might've seemed unfair since the shopkeepers were the one who revealed it themselves and entrusted them with the secret. Regardless, a human can't help but to act in his own fear of the unknown. Luckily, there was only one. Right after Yuki had revealed the fangs, they had checked Momo for the same. But there was nothing unusual about him physically. Momo is human. 

"Tenn," Gaku said. 

Tenn, who stood off from his side, responded coldly. "What do you want?"

"What do you think of the concept of vampires?" He asked.

"Unreal." Tenn responded bluntly. He always gave his honest opinion without sugarcoating it. That's what made him handy. But his intentions never seemed to clear, especially when he had lied about the crimson mercenary. Right now though, his mind seemed to be on something else. It was rather annoying.

But this answer had sparked some concern in Gaku. Did this mean that Tenn didn't believe anything that had gone on during the meeting? He hoped, deep down, that Tenn didn't dismissed all of it, no matter how preposterous the whole thing sounded.

"Whatever happens tonight," Gaku said, "Don't let logic hold you back."

"You see, the fun part of being a mercenary, is that I get to do it as I wish." 

"Sassy as ever," Gaku scoffed. Though he's actually quite amused with Tenn's 'smartass' answer.

"I'm not!" Tenn defended himself, raising his voice. His cheeks taint with a light pink, which matched his hair in a sense. 

The silver-haired chuckled. Often, the three didn't tease each other since business was all they had in mind. But on the occasion when he could poke some fun to lighten to heavy atmosphere, he enjoyed it. Ryuu often made attempts to be cheery but for the most part, it didn't work. Gaku wished these simple briefs could be more frequent.

But that moment only lasted a mere few seconds.

"Gaku." Tenn said after a couple of minutes of the two silently standing, his voice had shifted into a more serious tone. And that was when Gaku knew, it was time that the danger of the night had arrived at the village's doorstep.

Through the dark haze, blue dust glimmered in the night fog like glitter. They steadily fell downwards, emitting off from a dark figure. Before the glowing particles could touch the ground, they dissolved into nothingness. And centered between those particles is a large, furry creature on four legs. It's ice-blue eyes pierced through the darkness, but the rest of it's body was hidden in the shadows. 

Only after taking a squinted glimpse, do the two realize it's a wolf. Was it the wolf that had attacked Mitsuki? They didn't know.

But one thing was clear. The wolf hadn't come with peaceful intentions.

Tenn unsheathed the sword by his side and held it out in front of him with one hand. "I was expecting a vampire," he said.

"Unfortunately, we'll just have to deal with this damned creature too." Gaku followed Tenn's action, except he uses both hands. 

The three mercenaries had different tactics when it came to combat for they had all trained under different instructors before they had met in Dénué village. Gaku used both of his hands to strengthen his grip and enhance the power while Tenn, on the other hand, only used one hand for swiftness and accuracy. Ryuu wasn't fond of using the sword, or any weapon in general. He'd much rather use wit to settle out situations. Sometimes, a trap was the better choice over directly attacking with a sword. 

But in this case, Ryuu wasn't with them. The two sword-wielders had no choice but to take down anything in their way. And they were always prepared, unlike him.

The wolf growled huskily, then with sudden force, it charged at the two, it's claws scraping the cobblestone street.

Gaku and Tenn didn't have to say anything to each other. After years of working together, they had grown to know each other's tactics and battle styles. Gaku acted first. Sprinting, he rose the sword up, pointing it to his side. When he came in close enough, he swung the sword out in front of him. Blood spat out from the cut as he dragged it across the wolf's front, staining the blade. 

But it wasn't enough. The wolf didn't stop in it's tracks nor recoil. It jumpped and reaches out to make a pounce attack on Gaku, who threw himself off to the side. The wolf lands on the cobblestone, it turns around, and makes another charge at Gaku. Following the typical tactic, Tenn had shot off to the side of the wolf while Gaku made the first attack. He slashed the pelt several times, within a matter of seconds. 

The wolf howled of some sort as it took a turn off from it's original track and towards the exit where it stopped in it's tracks right at the gate. It's blood-stained fur dripped onto the cobblestone. The bright blue eyes stare at the two, shot with bloodlust. It's jaw hung open, seeming to be catching it's breath.

Tenn ran up next to Gaku, panting. His clothes had spots of blood scattered on it. "This. . . is not a - normal wolf."

Gaku stared at the wolf which is just standing by the gate, as if a guardian. He knew what Tenn had caught onto. The wolf didn't move like any typical animal would, this one took only one strike of attack instead of continuously going after them. Indeed, there was something peculiar about it. 

The wolf once again bolted at them. This time, Gaku held the sword out in front of him. He brought it up, ready to take a single slash at it's face. His feet pinned to the ground to gain a steady balance. Tenn ran off to the side once again, holding his sword out by his side.

Suddenly, a flash of black and white particles zipped across the cobblestone. A large shadow figure jumped out from a corner near a shop and slammed into the wolf. It's claw's sunk into the wolf's pelt, as it pounced. 

Another wolf.

Gaku's breath was stolen away. He froze as the wolves clawed at it each other, fighting for domination over the other. As the gray wolf fought back, the black and white one jumpped back, the claws on it's hind feet scratching the stone beneath as it skidded. Now across from each other, they bare their teeth and growl.

Gaku felt a force that pulled him back, throwing him off balance. Tenn had taken ahold of his wrist, "Gaku! Snap out of it!"

"Right!" Gaku shouted. With Tenn holding his wrist, the two run off in the opposite direction of the wolves, towards the bookshop. 

 

* * *

 

Iori snapped his head up as a howl is heard from outside. He looked at Mitsuki and Riku, who are also seated at the table. Both of their eyes widened, receiving the message. 

"That's. . ." Mitsuki whispered.

The three abruptly stood up from their seats. Iori's grip on the knife he held tightens. His hands start to tremble in nervousness, his heart rate elevates. Mitsuki stuffs the clear bag which holds powder into his pocket. Riku opened the door and takes a quick glimpse before darting out.

Mitsuki and Iori followed him out in a rush. As Iori took a look at the commotion, his hand slaps to his mouth. Fear rose up in him. He grabbed Mitsuki's wrist with his free hand, squeezing it.  _'Was this what Mitsuki had saw that night?'_  He couldn't imagine the pain of him ever getting hurt again. This time, he wouldn't let it to happen. 

Two wolves further down the street. One of them howled before it charged at the other, chasing it out of the village. And within a matter of seconds, the two have disappeared and the village once again returned to silence.

It had all happened too fast.

"Holy shit -" Iori breathed, "Was that -"

"Agh. . ! Iori! Let - go of me!" Mitsuki tried to pull away. He winced.

"O - Oh. I'm sorry," he released his grip on his brother go. Mitsuki embraced his reddened wrist, pressing at it.

Riku sheathed his knife back to his side. "More than one wolf," he muttered. Then, a thought came to him. Were the other mercenaries outside? Where was Tenn-ni? Did anyone get injured? 

Before he starts to end head down the street, Mitsuki said his name. His voice had a stiffness to it.

Riku turned around to see what Mitsuki and Iori had set their eyes on. What he saw took his breath away.

At the exit of the village across from the where the wolves were, a person stood at the gate. Their short hair glowed a slight purple in the moonlight. Their matching lavender eyes illuminated in the darkness, gazing out into the village. The red cape hanging from their back swayed gently. And in one of their hands, a book is held by their side by the spine.

 _'Beautiful_ ,' is what had come to Riku's mind first.There was something odd about this person for sure. They seemed in a sense, magical. But the alluring vibes emitting from this person had distracted him from that. 

The person didn't say anything. No one does. The weight of mystery had burdened the three so suddenly. 

The person seemed to ignore them. And in a blur of purple shadow, they shot past the three towards the other side of the village. The person moved too fast. Too fast to be human.

Riku gasped unintentionally. He hadn't meant to be caught off guard, he didn't know how it had happened. And without a word, he dashed down the street, leaving Mitsuki and Iori behind. 

_'Tenn-ni! Please, don't be down there.'_

 

* * *

 

Gaku stepped away from the front of the bookshop, his eyes following the two wolves as they hurriedly scamper out of the village. 

"Gaku." Tenn looked at him, his hand is at the door. "We need to inform Ryuu what just happened."

". . . Just a moment." Gaku said. Without another word, he ran towards the direction that the wolves had gone, leaving Tenn behind. Exiting the village, he trailed the fresh paw prints pressed into the dirt. While it was difficult to pinpoint them, they were deep enough to feel. And within a matter of seconds, he had arrived face to face with the line up of shaded trees that neared the border of the village.  _'So this is where the wolves have gone. Not surprising.'_

Looking into past the pillars of trees, the shadows had enveloped everything else within it. At a certain point, which wasn't far in, the woods beyond were pitch black. The wolves were nowhere in sight. It was likely they had run into the dark depths of the woods. 

A soft, feminine voice echoed in a hushed tone. It was almost like a whisper.

_H - Help me. . ._

Gaku felt his heartbeat come to a halt. That voice. It came from beyond the trees. Somehow it had reached him. It couldn't possibly be . . .

_Can you. .  hear me. . Gaku?_

Despite how hollow the voice resonated, it was too clear. It aroused fear in him. A fear that blocked out any other sounds as his heartbeat took over. His heart reached out blindly into the woods, dragging along his feet. He couldn't stop himself, his body started to move uncontrollably. Taking a step pass the border line into the darkness, he called out desperately. 

"I hear your voice! I'm coming, Tsumugi!" 

And through his strained throat, he managed, "You don't have to wait any longer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, writing this chapter was challenging. I'm not experienced writing action especially with weapons. And uh- animals. So I'm sorry if it's- not good.


	10. Unspoken Allies

"Gaku?" Tenn called out as he dashed through the gate of the village. He spotted his silver-haired friend standing in front of the woods- No. Was Gaku, perhaps, standing IN the woods? Tenn felt a sick drop in his stomach. What was Gaku doing at the woods? Surely the wolves have gone that way but he doesn't plan to follow them does he? Had something else caught his attention?

Gaku took another step, and another, passing the trees one by one, entering in deeper. If he continued any further, eventually he would be swallowed by the darkness, out of sight. 

"Gaku," Tenn said, his tone serious. He now stood at the entrance of the woods, just before the line-up of trees. "What are you doing."

But Gaku didn't answer, he seemed to be lost in thought. The way he turned his head from side to side, it appeared as if he's looking for something. Could he even hear Tenn? 

And suddenly, without a notice, Gaku bursted into a sprint, deeper into the woods. He took a series of leaps, his legs carrying him as fast as he could possibly go.

"Gaku!" Tenn shouted. He takes a step forward but abruptly stops in his tracks. Momo's words echo in his head, holding him back from going any further.

_The woods are. . . You could say, magical._

He watched his friend shrink as the distance between them extended. A sweat drop rolled down the side of his face.

_No one knows what's in there. No human, at least._

Tenn felt himself start to shake. He couldn't help it. Fear overtook him, consuming his body. And as a side, regret washed along, creating an internal tidal wave of anxiety.

_Once someone enters into the woods, they'll never be the same._

He wasn't stopping Gaku even though he knew he should. He couldn't. The terror within chained him back. And what hurt him most, is that he didn't have the will to fight it off. For fear keeps you alive.

"Gaku. . ," Tenn muttered hopelessly, "Where are you going?"

"TENN-NI!"

Tenn whipped his body around suddenly at the sound of Riku's voice. "Ri -!" 

Excruciating pain slashed through his stomach, cutting him off. He gaped, his eyes widened in horror as for a single, instant moment, he made eye contact with luminous purple eyes. Then in an instant, they're gone. 

Tenn fell down to the dirt, landing on his rear. He winced in pain as his hand comes in contact with the stinging open wound. "Tch. . ." He quickly turned his head from side to side, checking for the attacker but no one was in sight except for Riku.

"TENN-NI!" Riku scrambled in front of his brother, he let out a gasp seeing his brother's blood-stained, ripped shirt.

"Riku, why are you he-"

"It doesn't matter right now!" The red-haired male whipped off his cloak in a hasty manner. He bunched it up and pressed it against Tenn's flat stomach, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Can you walk?"

Almost hesitantly, Tenn nodded. Using Riku as a hoist with one arm around his neck, he stood up on his two feet, using the other hand to hold the cloak against the wound to hinder the bleeding. Together, they made their way to the gate of the village. 

"The hell - was that?" Tenn managed to say.

But he doesn't get an answer. Mitsuki and his brother ran out of the village. They had chased after Riku.

"Riku -? EHH?!" Mitsuki shouted, clearly surprised by the sight of an injured mercenary.

"Mituski, Iori! Go to the bookshop and tell Momo and Yuki!" Riku ordered.

"R - Right!" Mitsuki darted off back into the village, Iori following him after a moment of hesitation.

". . ." Riku didn't know that Ryuu is there with the shopkeepers, keeping a watch on them. Nor does he know the truth about Yuki. Tenn felt inclined to reject Riku's words but he doesn't. After all, his life was practically at stake. Along the way, Tenn could feel the red-haired male trying to steady his breathing. He didn't say anything about it.

 

* * *

 

It was Yuki who took immediate action the moment he saw Riku with Tenn limping into the bookshop. With the help of Riku, he had managed to place Tenn on the floor and against the shelves. Riku then sat off to the side, catching his breath, taking in deep breaths. Mitsuki put an arm around him in reassurance.

"Ryuu! Gaku has gone into the woods." Was the first thing Tenn said when he saw Ryuu with a rough edge in his voice.

"Eh?! Why?" Ryuu asked, taken back.

"I don't know!" Tenn spat. "He just left without a word."

Ryuu became speechless. Understandable.

After removing the blood-stained cloak off the wound, Yuki assisted Tenn pull off his shirt. The wound appeared calamitous at first but after cleaning off the lose blood, the cut proved itself to be neatly done. 

He wrapped the clean bandages around Tenn's stomach efficiently and even applied the disinfectant in a way so it wouldn't sting too much at once. The commotion had come to an end smoothly. The others, as they watched, were appalled by how well he had taken care of Tenn in such an professional manner. Yuki explained that he had experience with Momo, who was often reckless and in need of medical care.

After the process was finished, Riku explained that he didn't know exactly who had attacked attacked Tenn and why. 

"The three of us," said Mitsuki, "We saw a man with purple eyes and a red cape standing at the gate of the village. H - H e shot off to where the wolves were. He was unbelievably fast! I don't even know how to explain it!" His tone became more frightened the more he spoke. "Wait - was he even a man?! God I don't even know -"

"Mitsuki." Iori cutted him off. He looked over at Riku, "Did you see this man attack Tenn?"

Riku nodded. "But I don't think he had the intention of going straight for Tenn-ni because right after, he had disappeared-"

"Tenn-ni?" Iori asked.

Tenn shot Riku a glare, "Don't call me such things."

"Ah-! I - I'm sorry. . ," Riku waved his hands in front of him, "It just slipped-"

"Do you know him?" Iori asked. He crossed his arms, leaning against the bookshelf.

"Not at all! I just thought it sounded cute eheh. . ." Riku's nervous laughter trailed off.

"Ryuu. Yuki." Tenn said, switching the focus of attention, "Where is Momo?"

Ryuu shook his head in response. He fiddled with his fingers, "I'm sorry, he's gone."

"What happened." Tenn demanded.

"Momo. . . He knocked me out. Wh - When I woke up, he wasn't around anymore. He must've left somewhere." 

"And what about Yuki." 

Yuki had packed away the bandages and disinfectant, putting them under the counter table. "I had nothing to do with it." He insisted somehow rather calmly.

"That's true," Ryuu agreed. He then proceeded to tell the group what he remembered.

 

_Tenn and Gaku were in danger. He could hear it from inside the shop, the growling. Worry arose in him, he debated whether he should leave his post and help them or stick to the plan. Tenn and Gaku were capable mercenaries, they could take down practically anything. . ._

_'Unlike me,' Ryuu thought. He sighed._

_But then he shook his head and knocked it with his hands. 'No! Now's not the time for that! I must stick to orders.'_

_Suddenly, the door to the backroom clicked open, startling Ryuu._

_"Oop! I'm sorry about that, did I interrupt something?" Momo snickered playfully, poking his head out._

_"Ah, nope. I just get the chills easily." Ryuu said. "Is there something you need?"_

_"Weeeell," Momo says, "I need to go outside."_

_"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Gaku needs you to stay here. Plus," Ryuu added, "It's dangerous outside. Can't you hear it?"_

_"Indeed I can!" Momo said. He exits the backroom and closes the door behind him._

_"Uhm, you might want to follow Gaku's orders. He can be kinda scary. . ." Ryuu grinned sheepishly._

_"Unfortunately, I have business to do." Momo threw a fierce and sudden punch at Ryuu, catching him off guard. And coincidentally, knocked him out._

_'Hm. That was easy.' he chuckled. 'The poor guy is too soft-hearted to be a mercenary.'_

_"Sorry 'bout that!" Momo says playfully, though he knows the unconscious man couldn't hear him. And with that, he exits the bookshop, entering into the danger zone outside, leaving a trail of black and white particles emitting off of him._

 

Everyone in the room clearly wondered the same thing : What business did Momo have?

Everyone except for Yuki. 

All eyes were turned to the silver-haired male who simply shook his head and sighed. "I can't tell you, I'm sorry."

"If it has something to do with the supernatural occurrences, I think we're all entitled to know." Tenn says harshly. He didn't mean to be rude to the one who had provided him medical care just a few minutes ago but his anger was starting to kick him. But he felt at little power considering he was injured and still sitting on the floor. If he weren't wounded, he would have stood up to make his statement more mighty. But no, he just had be victim of a random, swift attack by some mysterious person.

"I can't tell you," Yuki said, keeping his tone calm. "All I can say is that it's to help the village."

Tenn huffed. Whether it was immature or not, he couldn't help it.

"How about this," Yuki proposed to the group, "I can provide you guys with something you each need in return for keeping that information classified."

"Like what?" Riku asked. What else could they possibly need?

 

And in the end, they had all agreed to Yuki's compromise. 

Riku, Iori, and Mitsuki were given permission to use the materials available here to extract the poison from the Wolf's Bane. In the backroom, there was plenty of different pieces of equipment that could be used to handle the flower and books in the front which proved to be handy for vital information.

Tenn and Ryuu received a map of the woods which Yuki said there was some sort of extra secret to it. Ryuu rolled up the map and gave his thanks. Tenn didn't hesitate to accept it but he questioned, why would Yuki offer more than what he has already done? 

"I'm on your side," is how Yuki responded. And Tenn believed him. 

Before the two mercenaries left the shop, Tenn paused at the door. Apparently, Riku is handling a deadly poison, it concerned him. But he didn't want to accidentally reveal to the others that he cared. Or worse, that they were related. So, he reminded the three to be careful in which they responded enthusiastically, then he left with Ryuu by his side. 

 _'So, Riku stayed in the village.'_ Tenn thought.  _'And he's found his motive.'_

While he still felt uneasy about Riku putting himself in danger, he felt a bit more reassured knowing that his brother had allies. Or maybe they were friends. Either way, he couldn't help but to smile to himself at the thought.

 

* * *

 

The equipment and books were laid out on the counter evenly. Surprisingly, the backroom actually had all the materials they needed. Was it a coincidence? They didn't bother to ask since it would be inconsiderate to question the man who had helped them.

"Mitsuki. The powder," Iori instructed. 

Mitsuki nodded, "Right!" He reached down into his pocket. 

He felt loose powder. Some of it had leaked from the small package they had so carefully placed it in. Mitsuki subtly wiped off the powder from the package and pulled it out of his pocket clean.

Iori took the package and opened it, not noticing that it was already partially open.

"Uhm," Mitsuki said, "I'm getting kind of tired. It's late after all. I need to get some rest back at home. You two can stay here if you want."

Riku placed down the book he had been analyzing and faced Mitsuki, "Sure thing." 

"Yes. Rest is important. Best not to deal with poison while you're drowsy," Iori added.

Riku's eyes met Mitsuki's, he smiled warmly. "Goodnight, Mitsuki."

"Goodnight, Riku! Iori!" Mitsuki exited the bookshop and headed down the street back to home. He felt his cheeks warm a bit. For some reason, the compassion shown had hit him with a rush of happiness.

But that didn't last for long.

Along his way, he stopped in a pool of moonlight. Hesitantly, he lifted up his hand to take a look. What he saw struck fear within.  A purple stain had dyed his fingertips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my lord. This chapter is a complete mess of POVs you can call it one disaster of 3rd omniscient.


	11. Secretive

The three mercenaries were never late to anything. When something blockaded the road, they simply pushed it out of the way and continued on their way. Being on time is vital when earning the professional title. Unfortunately, today is the day the three of them couldn't be on time. 

"Where's Gaku?" Anesagi asked. 

"Gaku is busy researching into something. He will not be attending today's meeting," Tenn said. He stood across the table from Anesagi, next to Ryuu with his hands straight at his sides. 

Anesagi scowled, "Does he really think that a meeting with his superior is less of importance than his little project to find his missing girlfriend. How foolish of him."

"I will pass on the information to him." Tenn said calmly. But on the inside, his temper flared up. Anesagi is no superior to them, as Tenn believed that firmly, it's actually quite unfortunate he thinks so. Tenn never appreciated to be considered someone else's underdog. And so frequently would he be mistaken for Anesagi's. Eventually he learned to ignore it. But whenever Anesagi reminded him, it would just smack him across the cheek. Sometimes, he just wanted to throw a punch at the silly-looking pink-haired flamboyant male who sat on a fancy chair drinking his wine all day. But then his main source of money would go all to the trash. 

"Alright, alright." Anesagi continued, fanning his hand as if blowing it off. "I wanted to say that there's an agent coming from the White city today, he'll be here to collect some taxes. Just make sure to greet him at the gate of the village and bring him here."

"We will." Ryuu and Tenn said in sync. They then bowed and left the house. 

The two headed down through the village, Ryuu trailing behind Tenn. Without their silver-haired leader, the two felt drained of power and superiority. The villagers would typically turn their heads away when the three passed by. But this time, they continued to do their errands and occasionally steal a look. 

Ryuu was the most popular of the three mercenaries. He often smiled at the villagers, even when they gave him death glares. Today, he was particularly friendly with the villagers who waved at him as they passed. Perhaps it was because the intimidating aura of the mercenaries had been lifted without Gaku. 

As Tenn passed through the middle of the village, he was reminded of the time when Tsumugi had approached him alone. That day, right at this spot, she had handed him a small rice bun. He remembered how flustered he had been at that moment. It was the first time someone had approached him ever since he had gained the reputation of being Anesagi's mercenary. How long ago was that? Probably when he was 15, so three years ago.

The memory played out right in front of him. He saw himself, and Tsumugi running up to him.

_"Uhm, hello!" The blonde girl said._

_". . ." Tenn didn't respond. He just looked at her with widen eyes._

_"You seem to always be working hard," the girl said as she opened her bag and pulled out a wrapped up bun. "Why not take a break and eat?" Her voice was high and soft. She moved gracefully._

_Tenn looked at her smiling face, then the bun. He went back and forth between the two, unsure of what to do. Why had she suddenly approached him? Wasn't that kind of odd? No one ever did. What was she plotting?_

_"Oi! Tenn!" Gaku called out. The older, more built, silver-haired friend came up to the two. "What's this? Your girlfriend?" He joked._

_Tenn felt his cheeks go red. "The hell are you talking about. . ."He muttered and crossed his arms and continued on his way. As he left, he heard Gaku laugh behind him._

_"Don't worry about it." Gaku said to the girl, "He's always like that. So anyways, what do you have there?"_

_"It's a bun. . ! You're one of the trainee mercenaries, right? Would you like one?"_

_"Oh sure!"_

_Tenn turned his head around slightly just to get a glimpse at the scene. He watched as Gaku took two buns from the girl, his smile had turned nervous as he introduced himself to her and she bowed, introducing herself as 'Tsumugi.' They looked happy._

Tenn remembered, Gaku had run up to him after that and gave him the bun, insisting he eat it. And he did. It was quite delicious. Ever since then, he spotted Gaku with her more often. He knew there was some sort of spark between them. When their duties were over, Gaku would talk about her. How she changed her hair for the day or how amazing her food was. 

"Tenn?" Ryuu's voice snapped him out from his daydreams.

Tenn continued walking, he hadn't even realized he had stopped flat in the middle of the street. It embarrassed him slightly.

By the time the two reached the end of the village they had already spotted a carriage drawn by a horse heading towards the village on the north path just off in the close distance. Tenn stood against the gate, watching the carriage as it pulled up closer. He took a glimpse at the woods which were always dark, no matter what time of day it was. Then looking over at Ryuu, he noticed the brown-haired male was also eyeing it.

"So, that's where Gaku went missing last night," Ryuu said.

"Yes." Tenn replied, "And he's likely still in there."

It was a scary thought. It made the two feel uneasy. Somewhere in the cluster of trees, Gaku was doing something. He was seeing something. He could be lost, he could be guided. Maybe he's alone, maybe he's not. He could be facing danger. Danger could be watching him. There was no way to tell, nothing they could do. 

Not unless if they went into the woods themselves.

The woods were too much of a mystery. A mystery that sat too close to home for comfort. The wolves could be in there right now. What were they doing? Could they still be fighting, chasing after each other? How many more wolves were lurking in there? 

Tenn is reminded of the person who had attacked him last night. It had happened in such a flash, he couldn't catch the face. The only feature he remembered about this person was their gleaming purple eyes. This person had run into the woods right after attacking him, Riku said that night.

Tenn furrowed his brows. It was likely the person had attacked him as a distraction so they could escape into the woods without anyone chasing after them. How frivolous. 

"HELLO?"

Tenn snapped out from his thoughts upon hearing a foreign voice call out to him. The carriage was right in front of him. How had he not noticed?  _'Ugh'_  Tenn facepalmed himself internally.

"Hello. You must be the agent from White City." he said after clearing his throat.

"Yes! That's me! Please, take me to see Village Head Anesagi!" A young man poked his head out from the carriage, he had yellow blonde hair styled neatly. He had a foreign accent which he spoke with such enthusiasm it sounded rather bubble-headed to Tenn.

"Right. We're the mercenaries assigned to this task. Follow us." Ryuu said. The two headed back into the city, followed by the horse-drawn carriage. Inevitably along the way, they had received many eyes and whispers.

 

* * *

 

"EHH?!" Riku and Iori said in sync as Yuki smirked slightly.

"V - VAMPIRE?! B - But what - How!" Riku stuttered, trying to gather words.

"Riku, calm down!" Iori shouted. He placed a hand on Riku's chest and took a step forward to Yuki who was simple reading a book, holding it in one hand and sitting in a wooden chair. He took in a deep breath before speaking, "Do you mind to eh - ex - explain?!"

"Oi! You're the one who should calm yourself!" Riku shouted back at him. He brought Iori's hand down.

Yuki shook his head. By the way his lips curved, he seemed to be holding back laughter. "Calm down you two. You don't want to spill any of the poison."

The raven and red haired males stopped. Both of their eyes travelled down to the pipette in Riku's hand. And at the edge of the pipette, a single drop of Wolf's Bane poison they had taken practically all night to extract hung off, ready to drop at any minute.

"Shit!" Iori grabbed a mini plate from off the side- the first one he saw, it had a nice design on it - blue flowers which formed the shape of a tear, and held it under the pipette. The drop of liquid plopped onto the plate safely, keeping itself together neatly in a circle.

The two looked at each other and sighed in relief. 

They then placed the plate onto the counter and rested the tip of the pipette on it. And without further ado, continued on with their shock.

"So - mind to explain?!" Riku asked.

Yuki shrugged, not looking up from his book. "A vampire is a vampire. What else is there to know?"

"Uhm, maybe it'd be nice to know if you're dangerous to any of us. . ? Do vampires actually drink blood like in the tales?" 

"Riku," Iori nudged the red-haired mercenary. "Isn't that kind of rude?"

"Ah - If it is I'm sorry . . ." Riku nervously placed his hand on his neck.

"No, it's fine." Yuki closed the book and placed it in his lap. "You two have a right to know." He then proceeded to explain the whole concept of 'vampires.' 

He said, with a calm tone, that vampires, in fact, do drink blood, typically of a humans. But he also made sure they understood that he didn't hunt humans for their blood. Actually, because he had learned to live with humans, he had adapted to drinking less and holding off thirst. It wasn't an easy process, but he had Momo there to help him. Yuki smiled to himself when he mentioned Momo. 

Iori figured that Momo and Yuki had been through a lot together. A part of him urged to ask about Momo but he held himself back. Those answers would eventually come at another time. He didn't see Yuki as any sort of threat, rather more as a ally. The fact that he was a vampire had not changed that. For he was still the same exact person who had helped them.

But he found Yuki and Momo to be exceptionally secretive. There were too many questions to ask. And he felt, even with Yuki's identity revealed, that had only made them even more mysterious. 

"This is going to sound a bit silly," Riku pointed at the door of the bookshop, "But what about the garlic hanging there?"

"Oh," Yuki brushed the idea off."Garlic isn't a severe repellant. It's only a myth."

After another few minutes worth of the three conversing, the time had reached noon. Riku and Iori started to pack up. They cleaned the materials with caution, making sure that none of the poison had leaked off onto anything else and packed it away into a clear, mini jar.

The amount of poison they had extracted from a single Wolf's Bane flower was only a few drops. They would have to collect more of the flowers in order to make more for effective usage. But that would happen some time later, since they needed a break after working hard all night until midday. Iori did feel rather tired now that he had finished the task and woken from his concentration.

The two waved goodbye to Yuki and gave their thanks to him then left the bookshop. Along the way home, Riku asked Iori if Mitsuki had any favorite foods.

"Hm, anything dairy." Iori responded, "He eats a lot of dairy because it's said they can help increase height." Though no one really knew if it actually was true since Mitsuki was still shorter than average. 

Riku couldn't help but to giggle slightly at that. He gave a thumbs up to Iori then headed off to the tavern.

When Iori returned home, after opening the door, he closed it behind him. "Mitsuki?" he asks.

But there was no response. 

Confusion rising, Iori took a scan of the small area, still standing at the door. No one was home. 

Had Mitsuki gone out for an errand? While Iori always had a reputation of being sensible, he often let his paranoias get to the best of him ever since he had awoken up to Mitsuki's blood-curling scream that one night. What if Mitsuki had never even come home?

'No. There's no point in letting those thoughts get to you,' his thoughts spoke to him.

Iori slowly walked over to the table where he placed down the bag which held the poison in it. There, he noticed at the opposite side of the table, a piece of white bandage stuck out from underneath. He crept around the table to take a look. What his eyes met with struck him with fear. The paranoia laughed at him, shaking it's head.

Blood-stained bandages were left on the floor in a messy manner. And along with them, drops of blood were scattered in the same area. 

_What happened. . ?!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehh ;---; I'm sorry Mitsuki. Gotta love making my faves suffer//


	12. An Alluring Spell

Rich. 

The blonde man with a large build outlined by a white suit screamed riches over rags. From the looks of this man, he probably didn't even know rags was a thing. His shoes were shiny, like they had been polished after every single step he took. Even the buckles reflected off light blindingly. His hair was pushed off to the side neatly with gel. Clearly, this man took care of every single inch of his appearance. 

No, that wasn't exactly bad a thing. It simply slapped rich in the faces of everyone here. An extra slap for every common villager.

"I'm Nagi from the White city!" This rich-filth man beamed. He had a hand on his chest, expressing that radiating confidence. His foreign accent sounded absolutely ridiculous, that's what everyone (well, between Anesagi, Ryuu, and Tenn) in the room agreed with silently.

Anesagi, who sat in his fancy chair at the fruit-decorated dining table as always, smiled. But it wasn't a friendly smile. This one was more a welcome-to-business type. He set down his glass of wine - or whatever his fancy ass drank everyday, and let out a chuckle. "Taxes? Is that all you need from me?"

"Yes yes! They're going straight to King Banri of the White city! I presume this won't be a problem?" 

"No no, definitely not. Sir Nagi, you're aware of this. I always pay my taxes in full and on time." Anesagi said with a smirk. 

Tenn and Ryuu knew why this was. Typically, leaders had difficulties paying their taxes as responsibly as Anesagi did. But that didn't make Anesagi any better of a person. Anesagi collected hefty taxes from the villagers which he used for his own personal gain and taxes to the White city. Much of the money the three mercenaries are supposed to be paid, end up in Anesagi's hands for "taxes." 

This was a main reason as to why Dénué village was rather poor and under-developed. Most of the villagers here hadn't seen the White city since this simple village was all they could afford to stay in. The three mercenaries had once taken a trip there to gather something for Anesagi. And no doubt, did they find it difficult not to leave their mouths hanging open in awe.

Anesagi reached from the table and pulled out a sack with a hefty amount of coins in it. Unfortunately, there was no easier way to exchange or transport money. All money came in coins which were heavy and a hassle to carry around. For this reason, most people carried their money around with them. Especially mercenaries who had no other choice.

"Oh GORGEOUS!" Nagi commented. He lifts up the haul of coins with one hand with ease, likely because his body was built for the job. "Thank you, Anesagi!" He said before turning around to leave the estate.

"We'll be escorting him out," Tenn said. Then he and Ryuu followed after Nagi. They lead him out of the estate, holding the doors open for him. Even at the carriage, they still assisted him in getting inside by holding out their hands after opening the carriage door.

Tenn wasn't fond of this part of the job. He would much rather live up to his expectations as a mercenary than as a butler. On the brighter side of it, at least it was an easy pay. But right now, pay wasn't exactly he needed most. There was much more important things at heart to worry about.

"Thank you!" Nagi said. Just as he was about to close the door, Tenn put his grip on it and held it open.

"Sir Nagi, I would like for you to pass on a message."

"Oh? And what is it?" Nagi asked as he disregarded the door and got comfy in his seat which was made of a fine leather anyone would drool at the sight of.

Tenn then explained the situation going on at the village. But only in vague detail to act as if the threat was still a mystery and no matter what the mercenaries did, there were no clues. He even left out the details about Mitsuki and Tsumugi. 

"Oh MY! That's horrible!" Nagi put his hands to his mouth, his eyes widened.

Tenn wasn't sure if his actions were exaggerations or actually how he just was. Regardless it still seemed scripted and rude. Perhaps it was because he was of a lower class and Nagi couldn't take his words seriously. Regardless, he wanted to give it a chance. He pulled out a small but heavy sack of coins from his cloak and held it out. "Deliver this message to the White city, make sure it reaches King Banri."

Nagi took the sack of coins and sat it down in his lap. "Of course! Anything to help!"

Tenn looked at Ryuu who just nodded, but his face looked unsure. "Alright, let's move on then shall we."

"Yes," Ryuu said, acting as if nothing had happened between the two. "Sir Nagi, where would you like to go?"

Nagi leaned back in his seat, "I'd like to hang out here in this village for a the rest of the day actually! And then tomorrow, I will head back down the North path and back to White city."

Tenn furrowed his brows, "Nagi. Did you hear what I said? This village is dangerous. You mustn't stay here."

"Oh but I MUST try the cuisine and meet some ladies!"

Tenn internally facepalmed. This guy didn't seem to take anything he had just said seriously. Did he really think that now, considering the state of the villagers in such a crisis, would the 'ladies' be thinking of meddling around with some foreigner? It was clear who this man was. An idiot of high status.

He sighed, giving in. There was no point in defying someone who worked for a superior. "Yes sir."

The two mercenaries opened the gate, they watched as the carriage went through and followed the rocky path back down to the village.

 _This is going to be hell,_ Tenn thought to himself. He made eye contact with Ryuu who just shrugged. Looks like they had no choice as 'Anesagi's mercenaries' but to follow along. Perhaps they could find some way out of it.

Maybe some sort of incident down the street would be ideal for a distraction.

 

* * *

 

"Why. . . Why won't it stop bleeding. . !" 

The small orange-haired male sat at the table near the corner of the room, hunching over. Watching the loose drops of blood drip run down his chest before falling to the floor, he slowly wrapped the bandages around his chest, his arms shaking. His breaths were hollow and short, his chest heaved up and down as he starred down at the bloody bandages scattered around his feet. Each time he replaced the bandages, he got more neat at it. But it didn't make any difference or matter at all. 

_This isn't normal is it._

He felt light-headed, likely due to the loss of blood. The room around his waved from side to side, black dots came in from the sides to consume his eyesight. Without finishing tying the bandages, he buried his face in his hands and let out a groan. 

"What is happening. . ."

Even with his eyes closed, he still felt like he was spinning. The blackness he saw moved in to and from, unsure of whether to wrap him or not. He stayed like this for a couple of seconds until his conscience started to creep back. The pressure in his head started to life.

A hollow whistle sounded at the back of his head. The note was smooth and low, gracefully traveling to Mitsuki's ears. It sounded as if it came from a wooden flute. 

He wasn't sure if he was just hearing things. Perhaps he was hallucinating. But it sounded so real. And it was beautiful.

Mitsuki slowly brought his head up. He looked around the house which was still empty of other presence. Iori was still likely with Riku at the bookshop, extracting the poison. Riku and his brother had spent the whole night together while he went home. His heart took a quick, tight squeeze though he wasn't sure what it was from. He hoped it went well, that no one had gotten injured. But he knew someone who had.

The musical note continued to play in the back. He listened to it. It was soothing, he felt calmed. His worries slowly started to diminish as he fell into a trance of what felt like a healing of the mind state. He thought of Riku's face when he had dismissed himself to get sleep last night. He thought of how genuine it looked. Butterflies swirled in his chest. He felt an urge to go check on him right now, to say good morning and ask how last night went.

He thought of the wound on his chest. The small trails of blood on his chest didn't bother him, nor did the ones on the floor matter. They had vanished. 

 _It's normal,_ he thought,  _the wound hasn't fully healed yet. That's it._

Mitsuki stood up from the chair, disregarding the mess on the floor. Without tying up the fresh bandages around his chest, the end of the strip hung off his shoulder. He slowly stepped towards the door, without putting a shirt back on, following the sound. The melody was entrancing.

_Who is playing such graceful music. . ._

He opened the door, letting the midday sunlight leak in, and walked out. He didn't look around him at the village. He barely even took note of it. Instead, he followed his ears, they lead in towards the direction of where the sound came from. And with every step, the flute became more clear. 

More luring. More beautiful.

 

* * *

 

Riku walked along the peaceful street of Dénué village, towards the other edge of the village where the tavern was located. He knew there were other restaurants available which probably had nice food too, maybe even nicer than the one at the tavern. But Yamato's tavern was the only place he was familiar with. Plus, he was on good terms with Yamato, or so he assumed. 

Yamato seemed to have a good reputation with the other villagers and proved himself to get along well with them. Riku figured, if he wanted any information about the village, Yamato was his go-to man. 

With his hands buried in the side pockets of his cloak, he noticed the tavern approaching in just a couple more seconds walk. 

"So something dairy huh. . .?" He muttered to himself, "I guess that could mean like yogurt." He wasn't really an expert on the topic of food, especially since he didn't eat much himself. He shrugged to himself.  _'I'll just askYamato then.'_

Something caught his eye. No,  _someone_. The orange-hair was hard to miss after all. Mitsuki was at the gate of the village, walking out. He only looked in front of him. 

"Eh? Mitsuki?" Riku called. He then sped up his pace to catch up with the male, taking notice that his friend's chest only had bandages on it. No shirt was bothered to be worn it seemed. 

But Mitsuki didn't answer him. He didn't even turn his head. It was as if he hadn't even heard Riku. He continued to stare out onto the North path, taking small steps out of the village.

_That's strange._

Riku hopped next to the smaller male and waved in his face, "Uhm, hello?" He cocked his head to the side a bit.

Mitsuki turned his head at Riku and starred at him blankly. Riku noticed that his bright eyes had become dull and lifeless. He didn't respond for a couple of seconds, his eyes looked like they were scanning him. Something was different about him. Something wrong.

It was after a blink, Mitsuki snapped out of it. "R - Riku?" He stepped back clumsily, suddenly taking in fast pants. His eyes went from side to side, as if checking if anyone else was around to maybe to see where he was.

"Hey, what's going -" Riku was about to ask but cut himself as Mitsuki stumbled off to the side, loosing his balance. In an instant, Riku grabbed his friend with both hands and held onto him by the arms. It was then he noticed small red splotches printed on the bandages. "M - Mitsuki?!"

Mitsuki's head tilted back a bit, eyes had closed, his lips were parted slightly. His breathing had slowly significantly.

He had passed out.

Riku let out a gasp, he suddenly pulled the male in against his chest where he embraced him for a quick moment. And without further ado, he swooped Mitsuki up bridal style, with his arms supporting the male's legs and back. Noticing how light Mitsuki was, it drew even more concern in him.

He then dashed down the street, holding Mitsuki against him tightly, feeling his warmth. Somewhere in his chest, his heart thumped rapidly, heavily. Worry aroused, taking over his thoughts, building up questions. But there was also something else hidden in his heart, something he had no idea of, and would not until the end.

 

And standing right at the edge of the woods, a familiar figure with pastel purple hair and a blood-red outfit stood. He slowly brought down the wooden flute from his lips. And underneath the crimson hood, he brings a smile of amusement upon his features.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys catching on to something I have in mind? « ♡ »


	13. Spirit of the Map

The tavern was bustling with people. Well, most of them were women. To Ryuu's surprise, they had flocked around Nagi like pigeons in the presence of bread crumbs. And considering he had just compared Nagi to bread crumbs, he felt ashamed. The one more deserving to be called a bread crumb was none other than himself. Sad to say, but it's the truth. Or at least that's what his confidence had become after years of being outshined by Gaku and Tenn in just about every way.

Ryuu and Tenn stood awkwardly off on the side of the tavern, against the wall of the tavern. Tenn, as usual, kept this arms crossed and one foot against the platform behind him. And Ryuu, with his hands in the pockets of his cloak. The corner of their eyes met. After years of working together, they had developed the ability to communicate which just a single look. Or maybe it was just thinking the same after being influenced by each other. Either way, it worked.

Nagi, who was certainly enjoying himself with the attention of the women, barely took note of them. But as part of the task assigned by Anesagi, they had to keep watch on him and make sure he wasn't harmed.

Ryuu and Tenn both could see the true intentions of these village women. They watched as one of the girls, who had a hand on Nagi's broad shoulder, slipped her hand down to the pocket of his white blazer and pulled out a 100 worth coin. She then combed her the threads of her hair with her fingers, slipping the coin out of sight. The magical ways women do things, Tenn and Ryuu could never understand. They didn't bother to stop her, nor tell the man himself. And sure enough, this man's pockets would be empty by the end of the day.

"Ryuu." Tenn said. "If Anesagi gets in shit for whatever happens to this man, I don't care." He then exited out of the tavern. Hesitantly, Ryuu followed him. He wasn't like Tenn who just disregarded quests or assignments whenever he felt.

While heading down the street, Tenn told Ryuu to examine the map while daylight was still out. He didn't say what he had in plan for himself. While communication was important, Tenn lacked it. And with that, he continued on his way while Ryuu headed back to their shared house.

Upon arriving back, he unlocked the door and set the keys back into one of the hidden pockets of his cloak. Most villagers didn't have locks, including Mitsuki, since they were more on the expensive side. To save money, Tenn and Ryuu stayed together in the same house, which was still small but larger than the average villager's house. Gaku had moved out early to live with Tsumugi.

Closing the door behind him, he then settles on his bed and pulls the map out from under it after feeling for it. He knew he should've hidden it somewhere else more secure but in truth, the only other people who knew he had it were Tenn, Riku and his companions, and Yuki. And he trusted them.

He unrolled it to find that it wasn't in the slightest bit dust-covered, which meant that it had been used recently. The the ink on the map was a bit faded and the paper was a tainted gold color. It looked like the ones which were used in fictional stories of pirates. On the paper, drawings of trees were scattered about, which wasn't surprising considering it was the map of the woods.

But something on the map had caught his eye. Something different.

Towards the middle of the map, off to the side a bit, was a sketched drawing of a girl lying parallel against a log. Her hair spilled out on the ground in front of her, her clothes were torn. Her eyes were closed, it looked like she could have been either sleeping or passed out.

The drawing seemed to have stopped time itself as realization struck Ryuu, fear spiraled in him. Despite the mess of a state she appeared to be in, she was still recognizable.

Tsumugi.

This couldn't be real. Anxiety pushed the questions to Ryuu, overwhelming him. He wondered who would have drawn Tsumugi and why. He wondered if the drawing had a purpose. He wondered, if someone knew where she was. He thought of Gaku. Ryuu pressed his thumb to the sketch and slid over it, muttering her name as a whisper.

Suddenly, the map in his hands had vanished. And through his fingers, he saw dirt mixed in with shriveled up weeds on the ground. Ryuu jolted his head up, his breaths hastened as he looked around to see ominous trees surrounding him, each one seeming to cast a shadow reaching out for him. And behind each tree, more and more darkness. The only spot which seemed to be illuminated was where he stood. It was silent. Except for a single soft groan which interrupted it.

Ryuu turned his body around frantically, startled. And to his surprise, he spotted her sprawled out on the ground just a couple of meters off to the side. Just as the sketch showed, she laid against an old log. Except the sketch had some details missing. The log was covered in moss and strangely colored mushrooms.

"Ts - Tsumugi!" He cried out as he scrambled to her side. He reached to out to place a hand on her bare shoulder but it goes right through her, making her figure appear translucent. His eyes widened in shock, "W - What?"

"TSUMUGI!" A familiar voice called out from behind. And Ryuu knew exactly who it was.

Ryuu whipped his head around to see Gaku, covered in dirt stains and clothes in tatters, standing before him.

"Gaku!" Ryuu said, his voice shaking in relief. He felt so glad to see his friend alive that his worries vanished for a split second. He desperately wanted to ask what he had been through and if he was okay.

But Gaku didn't respond. He squatted down in front of Tsumugi, half of his translucent body going through Ryuu's. He took ahold of her fragile hand, squeezing it, "Tsumugi, I'm here! Wake up, please!"

Forcefully, Ryuu used his legs to shoot himself away from the two. His hands pressed into the soil but he doesn't feel it's texture. "Wh - what is happening?!"

This was the woods. He figured he must've been transported here magically, somehow. And it scared him to the core of his heart. He felt alone despite having two of his friends seen in front of him. Confusion stirred in him, which lead to fear. But as he was about to burst into tears, a voice interrupted and a strike of hope rushed through him.

"Oh boy. . . Of all types of people." A low voice said glumly, once again from behind.

Startled, Ryuu looked up to see a built male with rough eyes and messy brown hair down to his shoulders leaning over him. He had the look of absolute disappointment on his features. The neckline of his shirt was rather low, it showed off his broad chest. Ryuu didn't recognize him. He wondered where the man had come from so suddenly. It was strange.

"Who are you. . ?" Ryuu asked, standing up. It was then he realized was taller that this unfamiliar man. Nothing new there. But height didn't make anyone less intimidating to him.

The man's eyes examined him. He frowned. Though it was unclear what he was exactly so disappointed in. "I'm Torao, a spirit. You must be Ryuu."

"R - right, that's me. . ." Ryuu said, his hands travels up to his neck nervously. While he wanted to ask how Torao knew him and what he meant by spirit, there was something more important to him right now. "Uhm, do you know how I got here?"

Torao's answer didn't exactly meet Ryuu's satisfaction. "Goddamnit. . . So you don't know. Clueless. What a hassle." He said harshly. He then walked off to the side a bit and stopped, muttering to himself. Ryuu could only catch on to a couple of words which included 'Momo' and 'idiot.'

Ryuu looked back down at Gaku and Tsumugi where he saw Gaku lift Tsumugi up bridal style, his eyes had teared up. He held her to his chest tightly before starting to dart off into the direction he came from. Ryuu held out a hand and chased after him, "Wait! Gaku!" He called out.

He stopped in his tracks as Torao shot in front of him in a blur.

"Tch," Torao growled at him, "You're not going anywhere until we settle this out."

"But my friend - "

"You friend can't hear you!" The male snapped, "You're not really here and this isn't really happening!"

"Wh - what?!" Ryuu's felt like he could choke on his own astonishment. He had no idea what Torao meant. Was he saying that this was all an illusion? That conclusion did seem logical to him but at the same time not. Honestly, he hoped it was one. "What are you saying?"

"Ugh," Torao ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance. "I'm not going to bother to explain this whole thing in detail since that's just a hassle. I'll just say that right now, you're seeing the future. And apparently, the map chose you to be my new holder."

"Holder?" Ryuu asked. It relieved him more to hear that he had not been transported to the woods itself. Putting the pieces together, he realized that the vision of Gaku and Tsumugi was something that was going to happen in the future. But how far exactly?

"I'm the spirit of the map you're holding right now. The map chose you to use my power of foresight. Don't ask me why, I have no idea myself." He crossed his arms, "I've seen you before. Momo was my previous holder until he ditched me and ran off."

So this is what Yuki meant when he said the map had some sort of secret to it. Yuki knew, because Momo had it. Come to think of it, Ryuu wondered how much Yuki knew that he had absolutely no clue of. It was a scary thought.

He decided not to question the claim that this man was a spirit. Since Yuki had proven himself a vampire, it wasn't surprising there were other types of supernatural living about too. But the idea of spirit could be interpreted in many ways. He figured Torao meant that he didn't have a physical form outside of the illusion.

"What do you mean you've seen me?" Ryuu asked, nervous for what he could possibly say next.

"I can see everything my holder sees unless if we're too far apart." Torao explained. He then snickered, "You're the sissy who got knocked out with one punch."

That made Ryuu feel embarrassed. It was true, but he didn't exactly feel fond of that moment. In his defense, he would have said that the punch had just come out of the blue. But at the same time, a mercenary should always have his guard up.

"You said the map chose me?" Ryuu asked, changing the focus.

"Yes, I'm not sure why but it happened. And since you're now my holder, I expect more from you unless if you want to die." Torao threatened, "Danger is coming for you and your friends. You'll be able to see it if you keep the map."

Ryuu didn't know how to answer. His mouth hung open in shock. It had all happened too spontaneously and he wasn't the best at dealing with sudden news. He tried to put together everything Torao had said to sense. Perhaps it was best to hold back any more questions since Torao, who claimed to be a spirit, was radiating with such irritation. He figured it was best to deal with what information he had.

But there was one thing that gave him some hope. He had some sort of new magical tool to tell the future. This could turn the tides of everything. He felt a strong urge to tell Tenn.

And so, being himself, he bowed and thanked Torao who just shrugged.

 

* * *

 

Torao watched Ryuu exited the foresight, fading out. He was surprised he didn't ask how to leave unlike Momo who spent an extra hour trying to figure out that you simply had to cut off your concentration. When the holder had disappeared, he let out a sigh. He had recognized that male. He recalled that Ryuu was in the room with two other men practically interrogating Momo and Yuki. But Ryuu was different from his companions. He wasn't aggressive. He mostly stood off to the side silently.

Torao hadn't meant to be so hostile to his new holder - if Ryuu kept the map, that is. It was just the sheer disappointment that had influenced him that it happened to the quiet one of the trio who inherited the map. In truth, he much preferred it to be the pastel-haired one. That man seemed like the type who get his shit done efficiently.

"Goddamnit Momo." He kicked the dirt and started walking off, not in any particular direction. With every foresight, he became more familiar with the location since that's technically where he stayed until a new foresight came about. Typically, that was the woods and Dénué village. As for the other spirits, where they were just depended on where the item or holder was.

He despised Momo for leaving the map behind and handing it down to this cowardly man. But he knew Momo's intentions. He knew what Momo saw that caused him to run off without the map. And to his surprise, he felt a tang of sadness. But he brushed it off quickly, knowing that holders were just like chess pieces. It was better to have a holder than none, even if the first one left him.

Momo took advantage of the foresight to the fullest of his ability. He had written a few books based on the foresights. Torao had watched him as he wrote them one after another. He had watched as the girl who was lying on the dirt had become invested in them. Those books were the key to winning the game. Until the holder of the mind control spirit had gotten his hands on the most vital one.

A branch snapped behind him. Torao stopped in his tracks. He knew exactly who it was. "What do you want, Isumi?"

The green-haired male emerged from behind a tree, likely where he had been lurking until Ryuu left. His voice was soft but it had a hint of maliciousness in it. "Aha, I just wanted to congratulate you on retrieving a new holder. And for a moment, I thought this game was starting to get boring."

"Don't make fun of me. It's the other two who still don't have holders. They're in last place." Torao said, keeping his voice monotone. He didn't mind Isumi's presence since it could get lonely being stuck in only a foresight of the woods. But Isumi sure had an ego, especially since he was the only one with a long-lasting holder so far. And that part irritated Torao. And it likely also irritated the other spirits.

Isumi chuckled, bringing a hand to his chin. "Tell me, who's next."

"Why would I want to benefit you." Torao said.

"Because we're friends.~" Isumi sung playfully.

". . ." Torao didn't know how to respond to that. But he didn't mind going along since after all, what else was there to do. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

After a couple of seconds of concentrating, he opened his eyes and turned to Isumi, noting that the scenery had shifted to another part of the woods that was closer to the path where a field of purple flowers sat at the other side. Their attention focused on an orange-haired boy who fell to his knees before a single Aconitum flower separated from the others which radiated unnaturally. Torao recognized this boy, he had seen him once through Momo's eyes at the bookshop once. And this wasn't the first time he had seen this foresight. Momo had also seen it.

The boy reached out for the necklace. The moment his fingers made contact with it, his hand whipped back, he winced.

Isumi grinned. "Minami."

Torao couldn't help but to chuckle. "Finally. The game is moving along."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand this chapter makes no sense. It's the NEXT chapter that explains it all.


	14. To See the Unfortunate Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh whoop I forgot to post these chapters last week. And my excuse is that I'm busy with a job and the school years ending exams are coming up. Well, I also got an Nintendo Switch and was hooked to it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Anxiety crept through Iori as he sat at the table, taking frequent glimpses at his brother who lay unconscious in bed. Mitsuki's breath was steady and he didn't seem to be in any pain. That relieved Iori a bit. But not fully. These days, there never seemed to be any chances to taste peace. Not until the mysteries have been solved. Or at least, out of their concern.

He recalled the moment a couple of hours ago when Riku had burst into the house with Mitsuki in his arms. He had felt the unusual surge of relief and fear at the same time, and it certainly didn't mix well. Right then, they laid him on the bed and tied his bandages, making sure they weren't too tight but still did the job of applying pressure onto the wound.

While the heavy seconds passed by, Riku had explained to Iori what had happened - That he found Mitsuki at the edge of the village in a daze then had suddenly passed out. He also made sure to include that he had caught Mitsuki right at the start of the fall so he hadn't acquired any more injuries.

There was no explanation yet. They would have to wait for Mitsuki to wake up until they could ask him what had happened, what he was doing. Eventually it had hit afternoon so Riku left to collect more Aconitum before the day hit night. There was no time to waste.

So now, Iori sat in the quiet house, with only the tapping of his fingers sounding, with absolutely nothing to do but wait. To wait for Mitsuki's wake and Riku's return. And this was perhaps one of the most soul crushing moments he's ever had to experience. He wished he could do something, he wished he could help.

The negative thoughts crept through his mind. That he hadn't helped at all since the terrorizing incidents had happened. That he wasn't there to protect his brother when he had gotten hurt. That he hadn't been the one to meet Riku and find the value in him. He thought back to the time he had first saw the red-haired mercenary - they had found him in the street alone at night collecting coins.

Iori buried his face in his hands in distress. Back then, he wasn't the one who had opened up to help the mercenary. It was Mitsuki. And it was Mitsuki who brought him back, keeping him from leaving the village to perish without his fate.

_'I had left him out on the street, exposed. I only cared for Mitsuki.'_

It wasn't him who had found the use of Aconitum, the key to defeating the wolf. It was Riku. And while Iori was aware he had helped Riku extract the poison, he still couldn't shake the thought. That the wolf was still out there, possibly ready to target its next victim tonight.

_'What am I doing wrong?'_

A light groan interrupted his thoughts. He shot his glance towards the bed where he saw Mitsuki rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep.

"Mitsuki!" Iori hustled over and kneeled beside the bed. His eyes searched Mitsuki's as they opened, making sure that there was no sign of 'lifeless'ness as Riku had described it.

Mitsuki turned his head, his lips were still parted a bit. His consciousness seemed to be recollecting itself as his eyes searched the single room of the small house and then met Iori's. "Iori. . ." He said, his voice light.

"You're awake!" Iori gasped, reaching out for his brother's hand instinctively in comfort.

But Mitsuki's hand retracted away, slipping underneath the covers. Iori looked at him in question. It sort of felt like rejection. Without saying anything, Mitsuki sat up, keeping the blanket over the hand and his waist. Iori doesn't question it since it might seem petty.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Mitsuki smiled at him, "I'm fine. I guess I just lost it for a moment." He then let out a light laugh. It felt nervous.

But to Iori, it felt fake. The smile. The laugh. Even the way Mitsuki had sat up felt forced. He stared into his brother's eyes, asking for sincerity, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I feel fine." Mitsuki responded, "Don't worry about it so much!" With one hand clenched, he slid of the bed headed for the mirror where grabbed his tunic and tossed it on.

Iori stood up also, his eyes following his brother's movements attentively. Through the way Mitsuki walked cautiously, he figured that consciousness was not fully back yet. "Mitsuki." He said, "What happened before you passed out a couple of hours ago. Do you remember?"

Mitsuki faced the wall when buckling the belt around his torso. His hands weren't visible. "I just went out for a walk but I guess I was still pretty sleepy."

Everything Iori heard, he couldn't believe. He didn't want to deny the words of his brother but they simply didn't add together. How could Mitsuki act like everything was fine and there was absolutely no problem? Frustration arose within him. He approached the smaller male, making sure that it didn't show through his voice. "Mitsuki. Tell me the truth."

Mitsuki looked back at him with his typical bright, friendly eyes. "Hm? Iori don't worry about it so much. I'm fine!"

"You're not!" Iori rose his voice, unable to hold it down. "You're hiding something from me. There's no way you could pass out so randomly in your state and be perfectly fine!"

Mitsuki furrowed his brows, his temper had kicked in too. He buried his fingers in the pocket of his pants, in a sort of pouting manner. "Iori, I've said it plenty- I'm fine! You sound so damn paranoid right now!"

Iori's breath had cut itself off. Mitsuki's words had pierced through his chest like a stab wound. It hurt, that his brother couldn't acknowledge the worry he had. "Of course I have a right to be paranoid! You're acting strange!"

Mitsuki bent down by the door and slipped on his shoes. "You're just imagining it," he grumbled then added, "Anyway, where's Riku?"

Iori didn't like that his brother had turned the subject with an 'anyway' but he still responded with a glum tone, "He's collecting Aconitum. We're extracting more poison tonight. . . If we can." Since whatever happens at night in this village always came up spontaneously. For all anyone could know, the end of it could be tonight. Whether that end would be them or the village, it was inconceivable.

"I'm going out to help him." Mitsuki said as he opened the door, letting in the orange afternoon light.

"But you just woke up. . ! Plus, it's almost night in an hour or so." Iori tried to reason. But he had a feeling Mitsuki wouldn't listen.

"Iori. Stop making such a big deal, I'm just gonna keep him some company." And with that, Mitsuki exited the house, shutting the door behind him.

With the house now once again silent, Iori stared at the closed door, biting his lip. There was something wrong. Mitsuki was acting strangely. He didn't seem to be himself. It was clear, he was hiding something through the way he had drawn his hand away and dismissed himself of anything wrong. This secret seemed to be separating them, breaking the bond they had shared just a night ago. And whatever the secret was, it clawed at him.

It hurt. It hurt to know that he once again couldn't be of any use. Even his own brother didn't seem to trust him with the truth.

Deciding to shake it off, he left the house and headed for the bookshop with the idea of gathering more books on different flower and herb usages. He knew, tonight Mitsuki would return with Riku. Then they could talk it out. And next time, he wouldn't allow his older brother to hold back anymore secrets.

 

* * *

 

"Yuki!" Ryuu bursted into the bookshop, squeezing the map in his hand. Tenn had followed him after Ryuu had managed to find him at Nagi's carriage and told him about what had just happened with the map from seeing Tsumugi and Gaku to meeting a spirit who claimed to have granted him foresight. Tenn at first didn't quite catch onto what he was saying since he had a tendency to be skeptical of the supernatural. But without hesitation, Tenn had agreed to accompany Ryuu in searching for the answers.

Yuki was sitting by the opposite side of the counter as usual, with yet another book in his hands. He looked up at the two. After his eyes had took note of the map in Ryuu's hand, a smirk spread across his face. "The shop is closing. Didn't you hear?" He joked.

Ryuu set the map on the counter, his eyes were serious. "I need you to tell me what the hell this map is." He didn't bother to waste any second or even greet properly. What he needed right now, was simply just answers.

Yuki placed down his book onto his lap. He looked at the two mercenaries with calm eyes. "You must've been surprised, no doubt. The reason why I didn't tell you about it when I gave it to you was because I figured you would understand it better if you had experienced it yourself first."

"Upon touching the map, I saw Tsumugi and Gaku in the woods. Then a man - no, spirit - who introduced himself as Torao told me that I saw the future through his power." Ryuu explained.

Yuki nodded as he listened to the brief explanation. He then chuckled at the mentioning of Torao's name. "Ryuu." He said. "I need you to listen to me carefully and believe every word I say."

"I will."

"What happened was absolutely real. The map I gave you grants it's holder the ability to see the future. Living inside of it is a spirit named Torao. However, the map has the ability to choose it's holder which led me to give it to you." Yuki explained.

Ryuu looked at Tenn who just raised a brow and then back at the gray-haired male. The idea of magical items with abilities seemed absolutely fictional on all levels. Far more unbelievable than alternative humans. But there a certain question Torao couldn't answer. "Why would it choose me?" He asked.

And apparently Yuki couldn't either. "Hm, I'm not sure myself." Yuki said. "These items can see potential in certain people in which they trust to handle the ability belonging to it."

 _'These items,'_  Yuki's words caught Ryuu's attention more than the question of what potential he had that stood out to the map, considering there was no answer for that one. "You mean there's more than one?"

"Correct." Yuki replied. "In fact, there are 3 more. The flute of mind control, the Aconitum of poison, and the rapier of power. Each of them contain a separate spirit. You have the 4th one- The map of foresight."

"How do you know of all of this?" Tenn asked skeptically, budging in.

"Oh, Ryuu should already know this if Torao had mentioned it." He grinned, "Momo was the previous holder of the map."

"You mean, this whole time- Momo could see the future and he didn't tell us." Tenn spat out angrily.

Yuki pulled out a small stack of books from under the table. He placed them on the counter and let out a sigh as if he had been waiting for this moment to happen for some time. "These books are written by Momo and the one that has been stolen. They're stories of the future he saw. I knew no one would believe me until it was proven that the future could be seen. And now that the proof is here, I suggest you use these to your advantage as well as the map."

Tenn and Ryuu stared at the books in shock. This whole time, the answers were all written in books right in this very bookshop. By their own allies. Even Riku had no idea that the book he had wasn't just a fictional book. And the one that had poked at them most- that Tsumugi was right this whole times and no one listened to her.

Suddenly, it seemed Tenn had become more interested than skeptical. "Where are the other items located? Do you have another with you?"

"To my knowledge, the flute of mind control already has a holder. I'm not sure where the other two are located."

"Wait. Who is the holder of the flute?" Tenn asked. Even Ryuu's attention had become more sharp at this.

"Remember last night, Tenn." Yuki said. "Would you believe me if I said it was the mysterious person who had inflicted the wound on you?"

Tenn gaped. This person had been closer to them than they had thought. Yet, they were so unfamiliar and far. "Then it's likely this person has used the mind control ability on someone here. . !"

"It's a possibility." Yuki responded. He then reverted the focus of attention on the previous question. "There is a way to find out where the other items are. But it's merely chance. Ryuu, may I see the map?"

Ryuu nodded and Yuki took it. The map was unrolled out on the counter. Ryuu let out a gasp upon seeing it. "The map changed. . ! Earlier, it was a sketch of Tsumugi in the woods and now it's. . ." He examined the new sketch which was located at the edge of the woods. It was of a boy reaching out to a flower which looked like hanging bells. He was surrounded by trees. And behind him was the field of Aconitum located on the North path. The three mercenaries had gone on that path multiple times for their quests. They always admired the field of purple flowers but never touched them, knowing what the consequences would be. From the style of hair the boy had, Ryuu recognized him. "Mitsuki?"

"I don't see anything." Tenn said glumly. Ryuu got vibes of disappointment and envy emitting off from his friend.

"It seems only the chosen holder of the map can see it." said Yuki, indicating he couldn't see it either. He looked up at the brown-haired male. "Ryuu, look into the foretelling and tell us what you see."

"R - right!" Ryuu agreed. He held out a hand and brushed his fingers across the sketch.

Upon touch, Tenn and Yuki vanished. He was no longer in the bookshop. And judging by the abundance of dark trees, and hazy light which seeped through one side, he figured he was at the edge of the woods. Looking out beyond the trees, he saw the sea of Aconitum. And to his surprise, Riku sat in front of the flowers, looking around himself as if something or  _someone_  had just disappeared.

And to his left, Mitsuki fell down to his knees in front of a single Aconitum which glittered unusually. Ryuu watched as the male reached out, seeming to be entranced by it. Alarmed, Ryuu crouched down and threw his hand out to Mitsuki's. But his hand had gone right through Mitsuki's, suddenly making his body translucent.

This was what had happened in the vision earlier with Gaku and Tsumugi, Ryuu recalled. This time, he didn't feel afraid nor confused. Knowing there was no way to help at the moment, his eyes followed Mitsuki's fingers as they came in contact with one of the petals of the flower.

Mitsuki immediately flinched his hand back and winced. His eyes suddenly widened as if he had just woken from a dream and realized what had happened.

The flower suddenly illuminated with intense power. It bursted into a bunch of purple particles.

Without another second to think, Mitsuki threw himself back, gathered himself back on his feet and attempted to escape the scene. But the particles shot into the air in a laser-like line and coiled around his palm. He crashed onto the ground, hands first, like an invisible force had yanked him down.

Ryuu ran to his side and reached out once more for him but him hand once again simply went through the smaller boy's body. "Mitsuki. . !" A sweat drop rolled down his cheek, he felt horrified from deep down in his chest. Mitsuki at some point in the near future was going to be in serious danger. Danger from a magical flower.

 _'The Aconitum of poison'_ Yuki's words rang throughout his head. It was then he realized Mitsuki was going to the holder of the a deadly power. . . Unless if he could prevent it from happening.

"You caught onto that quickly," Torao's familiar voice said from behind. "That must be why the map chose you."

Ryuu didn't look back at the spirit, unsure of whether he had his mind read or it was just evident what he was thinking. Just before his eyes and out of his power, Mitsuki was suffering, losing his conscience. "I need to go," he declared.

And with that, he found himself back at the shop with Tenn and Yuki looking at him.

"What did you s-" Tenn started but Ryuu cut him off with his abrupt movements.

He rolled up the map in a in a hassled manner and shouted, "TENN! We need to save him, NOW! Follow me!" Tenn, being the quick-witted one he is, didn't question it and obliged, leaving the books behind.

As Ryuu swung open the door, he came face to face with a familiar raven-haired male who jumped back in surprise. How coincidental. But Ryuu wasted no second, he shoved past into the afternoon dim and shouted, "Iori! Come with us, your brother is in danger!"

"Wh - what?!" Iori stammered but there was no immediate answer so he proceeded to follow the two mercenaries. And with that, the three darted down the street, exiting the village, heading towards the Aconitum field in hopes of making it in time. Ryuu's heart pounded desperately, the vision replayed in his head over and over again. He knew, he had to make it in time for he had the power to save Mitsuki's life.

He had the power to change the whole fate of everyone here.


	15. Curse of the Wolf's Bane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the last one were published a month apart if that explains anything about writing or such.

Mitsuki could spot the bright crimson hair from a mile away. Honestly, he couldn't judge though with his own radiant orange. He approached Riku who was bent over in a kneeling position in front of the vast field of Aconitum. Off to his side on the ground were picked flowers stacked neatly in a pile. The sun off in the distance casted hazy spell upon the scenery.

Riku took notice of another presence near him before Mitsuki could even come in close. Must be the mercenary senses. He waved and smiled in what must've been relief.

"Mitsuki!" Riku called. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Mitsuki replied. He didn't want to bring up what had happened between him and Iori. After all, he came here to escape from that. He stood to the side, bit off behind the mercenary. "Need any help?"

"It's alright. I'd rather you to not risk yourself," Riku said, his voice was soft. He then picked another flower with care and added it onto the pile.

Mitsuki felt a relieved Riku didn't bother to ask what had happened when he had passed out. He didn't want to explain it. No one would believe such a thing had really happened. They would think he was crazy, hearing a music instrument no one else could. "Let me help anyways," he said and sat kneeled Riku.

"No, really, you don't have to."

"I've got gloves, it's okay," Mitsuki insisted. His own words reminded him of the poison he had accidentally slipped onto his fingers a couple of days ago. It was wonder, how it hadn't taken over his whole body yet. He brought his hand to the Aconitum which was situated right before him. He pressed the back of his covered finger gently to one of the purple bells. It's strange. Something could be so beautiful yet dangerous at the same time. Just as the saying went, how deceiving. 

Riku grinned and went back to choosing out specific flowers from the assortment. "Just make sure not to push yourself."

Mitsuki didn't reply. He wanted to hold back the anger building up in him. Anger that tapped at him each time someone treated him as if he were some fragile child. He was older than Riku and Iori but unfortunately no one seemed to acknowledge that. 

A tune played at the back of his ears. It sounded familiar, the same wooden flute he had heard earlier. He turned his head from side to side, wondering if someone was around. But he didn't see anyone. Not even in the woods behind him did he spot anyone. He looked at Riku. The mercenary didn't seem to be reacting at all, could he even hear it?

Mitsuki slowly stood up from his spot, eyes still searching the area. But there was no one else. The tune sounded like it came from the direction of the woods. Following his ears, he stepped over the path which separated the field and the dark trees and crossed over to the other side. With each step, the flute increased in volume, becoming more clear. Right before the entrance of the woods, he squinted into the eerie darkness. No signs of any life. No source of music.

But there was one thing that stood out to him. A bit deeper into the woods stood a single Aconitum. The purple bells glowed luminously, they glittered and shimmered. Alive.

Curious, Mitsuki made his way pass the gate of trees and into the darkness which casted upon him. Behind him was close to the path where there was light seeping through. The light barely seemed to make it far into the woods. It was as if there was something blocking it.

Mitsuki dropped to his knees in front of the flower. The tune from the flute became completely audible. He felt a sense of serenity with the aesthetic of the beautiful flower before him and the soothing music enveloping him. He felt warm. Like he could fall asleep right next here and wake up with all of his problems gone.

Unconsciously, he pulled off the glove and tossed it off to the side. His hand trailed it's way over to the flower. It hovered for a few seconds. The tip of his finger pressed against the glowing bell.

The tune stopped.

His eyes widened. He felt awake. What was happening? His hand flung back from the flower which still glowed of a chaste color. But the spell it had him lured under had broken in a snap.

_What am I doing? Where am I? How did I get here?_

Mitsuki shot his small body backwards, he noticed the hazy light leaking through the trees. The path. Riku was right beyond the trees, he wasn't alone. Mitsuki got up onto his two feet hastily and made a dart for the exit of the woods. 

But he didn't make it far. A stinging pain shot through his wrist, it then spread to his hand. As if a force was holding him back, he lost balance and slammed down on his front. A glowing, white string had coiled around his wrist and hand. It tightened and pulled him backwards, dragging his body with it. 

Mitsuki tried to let out a scream, but nothing came out. His surroundings blacked out into nothing. And like a magician revealing his trick under the cloth, he eyes met with another person sitting up in a tree above him. The person looked androgynous with his cream-colored hair neatly hanging down to his shoulders and the soft eyes which stared down at him.

"Hello," the person greeted him with a smooth yet low voice. "Mind if you stand up? I'd rather not talk to someone who looks like they're going to sleep."

Mitsuki got up onto his feet. He stepped back as the male dropped from the tree, landing perfectly on his toes, and approached him. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling. The stinging in his hand had disappeared. From the looks of it, he was still in the woods but the sight of the path was out of sight.

"Let's introduce ourselves properly shall we? I'm Minami," the man held out a hand. He smiled. 

Mitsuki didn't take it, "I'm Mit-"

"I know who you are."

How rude. Mitsuki furrowed his brows. "What's your deal? Were you the one playing the flute?"

"Flute? Are you speaking of the Flute of Mind Control?" Minami replied. He had his hands on his elbows in front of him. "Looks like Isumi's helping me out a bit, huh."

Mitsuki had no idea what the hell this person was going on about. But it seems like Minami wasn't the one with the flute. But maybe there wasn't a need for answers right away. What mattered more might've been how to get out of wherever he had been transported to so suddenly. "Get away from me!" He shouted. "What happened to the path? Where is it?!"

"Clearly not here," Minami replied. "But that's not the point of your arrival." He then brought his closed hand up in front of him. He unraveled his fingers to reveal the glowing Aconitum floated above his palm. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"What the hell are you up to?" Mitsuki demanded.

"I'm just going to give you a present, calm down." The male's fingers wrapped around the stem of the flower, "Here you go."

"I don't want it."

"Awh, no? That's such a shame. But you must take it."

"Why should I? Do you think I'm stupid?" Mitsuki scowled. Clearly, this man was up to no good. But he couldn't predict was going to happen next. Despite him acting all friendly (in a sense), he still felt threatened. There was a hint of evil in Minami's voice.

"Take it." Minami's voice grew darker.

Mitsuki didn't take it. He darted away from Minami and through the trees, running as fast as his legs could carry him. What the hell was going on?! As he ran into the nothingness, more and more of identical-looking trees rushed past him. In fact, it was starting to look like a pattern.

A hand grabbed Mitsuki's wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He looked back to see Minami squeezing his wrist. His eyes showed disapproval. Mitsuki watched the next split second as Minami threw his leg, thrusting it into Mitsuki's stomach. His arm drew a single circle and with that, Mitsuki felt his back slam down onto the soil below him. He let out a cry of pain.

Minami glared down at him. "Take it."

Mitsuki parted his lips to reply but he could only choke out a wheeze. Sweat ran down the sides of his head. He couldn't move.

Minami leaned over and placed the flower into Mitsuki's bare hand. "See? Not so hard is it?"

In horror, Mitsuki tried to drop the flower but his fingers didn't move. The flower shimmered, it flashed into a burst of purple and shrunk until it completely disappeared from sight. 

"Well!" Minami clapped. "Until we meet again, thank you for your corporation."

And with that, Mitsuki blinked to find himself back where he had fell before everything went black. The path outside of the woods was once again in sight. Mitsuki crawled up onto his knees. A sharp pain sliced through his hand. He winced and held it up.

His hand looked perfectly fine. As if nothing had happened to it. But that was too real to be a dream! He looked back into the deeper part of the woods. The Aconitum had disappeared.

A rustling was heard. Following after, a flash of a black and white creature leaped out into sight. It started to crawl towards him.

The wolf! Mitsuki's mind spiraled out of control as his body froze in absolute fear. Flashes of that night invaded him. Fear enveloped within his body, flooding through him. He shook, but couldn't bring his legs to move. Not to even push himself back. He brought his arms up in front of him, desperate. With a trembling lip, he managed, "S-Stay away!"

And with those words, a purple flame ignited before his palm and shot straight to the wolf with silence, landing right to it's stomach. The wolf immediately fell limp. 

A cloud of black and white particles surrounded the wolf and then scattered away, revealing Momo it's place, laying on the ground. His clothes were tattered and he had sustained multiple injuries along his neck and legs. He let out a groan, "Damnit..."

Mitsuki clenched his hands together, squeezing them so tightly, digging into his skin. What had just happened? Was it magic? He couldn't believe his eyes. Had he just witnessed the wolf turn into Momo? Had his eyes played a trick on him... But he swore he saw it. Without another thought, he scrambled over Momo's side and grabbed his shoulder, "Momo! Momo! Are you okay?!"

Momo wasn't okay. He choked out a slight laughter, "I'm... too late. Darling's gonna miss me."

"Late?" Mitsuki repeated. He wasn't sure what the older male was going on about. He pulled up the shirt to reveal Momo's stomach. A pool of blood was forming, running off onto the soil. Had he done this? Panic rushed through him, "Y - You'll be okay! Hold on! Riku is close by..." He then proceeded to shout for Riku, calling out his name repetitively.

"No," Momo whispered, "It's too late." He let his head rest back on to ground and closed his eyes. "Goddamnit... It hurts like hell. Like where I'm going."

Mitsuki couldn't believe Momo could crack a joke at his death. He gripped Momo's body tightly and held onto him. His throat squeezed, closing in on itself. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..!"

"Accidents happen."

"Shut up! This is all my fault..." And he didn't even how he had done it. Or what had even happened.

"MITSUKI!" A voice rang through the woods. 

Mitsuki shot his head around to see Riku sliding beside him. Riku let out a gasp of horror, "This is... Momo."

Mitsuki couldn't feel the man's breaths anymore. Momo's whole body had gone limp. His hands had fallen to the ground and his lips were parted. He was dead.

The tears ran down from Mitsuki's face. He wailed, "It's all my fault! I k - killed him! I'm... I'm c - cursed!"

"What do you mean?!" Riku shouted, he gripped onto Mitsuki's shoulders and looked at him straight into the eye. "We need to get out of here, okay?"

Riku was right. It was dangerous to stay in the woods. Especially to Mitsuki, for what had happened within the few minutes of entering in. But Riku didn't know the story. Together, they pulled themselves out of the woods, Mitsuki's hand gripping Riku's, leaving Momo's lifeless body behind.

Mitsuki turned his head back to take one more look through his blurry eyes but Riku didn't allow it. "Don't look," the mercenary said. It would only make the situation worst.

Mitsuki tried to breath in and out smoothly as his heartbeat pounded heavily inside of him. Upon reaching the path and entering back into the afternoon light, a call pierced through the air.

Off in the near distance, Ryuu, Tenn, and Iori were dashing their way over. The looks on their faces showed alarm. What could have happened now?

"Everyone..." Riku muttered.

Ryuu and Tenn halted right in front of the two. Iori was panting. Tenn's eyes went straight to Riku, he furrowed his brows at the two.

"Did something happen?" Ryuu asked. His gaze was glued onto Mitsuki who's state slightly battered up. He looked worried. He bit his lip, hard.

Riku and Mitsuki looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. Only Mitsuki had the whole story. And even he could barely comprehend what had happened. His lips parted, unready to tell everyone something so unbelievable. Something that seemed purely fictional. From hearing the flute earlier to the death of Momo. They would think he was crazy. They would hate him. Yuki would hate him. 

He cleared his throat first, suppressing the the crushing regret and confusion which snickered at him from behind.

"Let's head back first. Bring the Aconitum."


	16. Beyond the Words Written

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger (no pun) warning: thoughts of suicide

Yuki had taken the news quite maturely. It was as if he had already known what was coming and had prepared himself a little too well for it. He didn't even twitch when the news was broken by a stuttering and sobbing Mitsuki. He had broken down so much, one wouldn't believe that the male had his composure put together just fine a few moments ago. If the scene had been muted, it would've looked like a child was crying about stepping on a flower to his guardian— who at the time had been pouring hot tea in a little tea cup. Yuki's expression hadn't changed since when the bookshop had been a silent little haven to a base of a mess of panicked, confused men.

And all Yuki replied with was, "Would any of you like any tea?" as he pulled out another cup from under the counter.

No one else in the room thought it was appropriate to have tea in a scenario such as this one. Especially not Tenn—who held his sole purpose in professionalism—but to everyone's surprise, Mitsuki nodded eagerly and brought the cup to his parted lips with shaking hands. Scared he would spill it, he quickly chugged it down in one gulp and practically tossed the cup back onto the counter as if it were some sort of spider. He then said his thanks with a timid voice, hunching his body over, avoiding making eye contact.

"You have no need to be so anxious," Yuki told him, gesturing a hand to a couple of chairs that had been brought out from the backroom.

Mitsuki took a seat, clenching his hands together on his lap to prevent them from shaking anymore. Riku stood next to him, closer to the counter. He had a hand on his friend's frail shoulder in an effort to provide some sort of comfort, and to Mitsuki, it sure did a great deal of assistance in providing more mental stability.

Tenn and Ryuu stood right off the side of the counter, and as usual, Tenn leaned against the empty bookshelf with a serious expression on his face except this time, it also had a heavy frown painted on it. Ryuu looked more concerned.

"I suppose you've all come to the point where mysteries have built up to form a better understanding of what I'm about to tell you," Yuki said calmly.

No one replied to that.

What came after was an explanation that had taken enough time for the moon to rise and the deep navy sky to blanket the earth with its shadow. Yuki admitted that he had been expecting them all to come with the exact news he had been prepared to hear for the last few weeks when Momo had seen it with the map of foresight — being the original holder of it. Actually, he wasn't 100% precise with the calculations since there was a slight chance Momo might've made it, but, of course, he didn't bother to dwell on such odds.

Yuki remembered Momo's reaction when he had seen it. He had panicked and clung onto the older male, crying until he could no longer bare to think of it; but being Momo, he got over it easily by distracting himself with writing a book and then involving himself with the mercenaries of the town. The script he followed had distracted him so much from the prospect of death that he simply accepted it as if there was nothing he could've done about it.

 

* * *

 

_Momo said his goodbye to Yuki in the back of the bookshop the night he darted off into the woods, chasing off the intruding wolf in his own transformation of the creature. A black and white wolf— his gifted birthright species of the werewolf. In the woods, he lunged after the wolf with the ice-blue eyes, chasing it further into the shadows, deeper and deeper, until he finally caught up, battling face to face._

_"Traitor," the other wolf growled at him._

_Momo laughed between pants. "Traitor? I went on my own path which I choose to be right. Does someone's birth define where they must stay and who they must be loyal to? Even you found a master to obey, doesn't that make you a traitor, too? The only difference is that my master decided to live in harmony with the humans."_

_The other wolf winced back at Momo's words. They had only induced more anger in him. The truth went against both of the wolfs' contracts. The contracts that bound them and their masters. In spite, he let out a howl and leaped forward to Momo, unsheathing the claws out._

_Momo had swiftly dodged and zigzagged through the trees with the other wolf chasing him around as if they were just playing as puppies. The abundance of trees became a blur, shooting past him. "You can't catch me~!" he hollered. "How about we just sit down and talk this out, shall we?"_

_He had so much fun with the playful instincts kicking in that he had forgotten what was supposed to come next. In his own distraction, the other wolf took him down and ripped his claws through the flesh._

_After what must've been a one-on-one battle of days in the never-ending night, Momo halted in his own tracks against his own will upon hearing a wooden flute. The other wolf stepped back and greeted a young male with glowing purple eyes and a crimson-colored cape, rubbing his head to the hand. The male had his hand out in front of him, a grim smirk on his face, and a book in his other hand. Attached as a necklace was the flute._

_"Momo. . ." The man said with his soft voice, "I read about you."_

_Momo couldn't move no matter how much he tried to force himself. Nothing could undo the spell of the mind control. So instead, he huffed, "That's my. . . book you have. . . in your. . . hands."_ Yes, that book— you stole it from Riku, _he thought._ But I already knew it would happen. And yet, I didn't stop it from happening. Oh, how surprised you must've been when you read of yourself stealing a book.  _Blood stained across Momo's fur, all around his body, and surely, if there were lights, the amount that had spilled out onto the soil beneath him would've been perfectly visible._

_"Your book?" The caped male asked as he brought it up with a hand. "Then I must ask, what comes after the ending?"_

Ahah. The ending in which Momo dies and then the next page is blank.  _"The book ends today. . . I cannot see any further," Momo said. He felt a release on his body, causing him to fall limp to the wet ground. In a burst of black and white particles, he transformed back into his human form._

_"I don't need to know it then. This book has me on path," the male replied back to him. He gave another stroke to the bloodied fur of the ice-eyed wolf. "Now, why don't you start heading back? Momo, the doors to your fate are soon to be shut."_

_Momo's eyes widened. He pulled himself back up onto his feet, taking in deep breaths to refill the air in his lungs. "I got too caught up with fighting your damn wolf. . ." he muttered. He internally facepalmed himself. S_ o it really had turned out just as I had written it. Oh, how careless of me.  _Within a few minutes time, the story would be completed. At this point, it all depended on if he made it in time to reach Mitsuki who was predicted, according to the Map of Foresight which he left to the hands of Ryuu, to be the next person to pick it up, to be cursed with the Aconitum._

_Momo shifted back into his wolf's form and shot one last look at the caped man and his wolf. Before heading off to seal the future, he said to them:_

_"The Map of Foresight is now in the hands of someone else who is more capable of changing the paths of everyone. And the book you hold will no longer be relevant."_

 

* * *

 

"Momo came across the Map of Foresight merely by accident," Yuki said, putting the tea off to the side. "As a werewolf, he wasn't allowed to meddle himself in any human affairs or activities. . . but he did.

(with me. . .)

At the least, he decided that he wouldn't change your fates directly and only wrote about them."

"Vampires, werewolves, spirits. . ." Tenn muttered. Two of which had been right in his town for many years already, blending in with the common to his own oblivion. He swore, in hopes that there wouldn't be anymore 'supernatural beings' than just those three.  _What else could Yuki be hiding from us? What could Gaku be seeing in the woods right now?_

Ryuu pursed his lips, squeezing the map tightly in his hands. Quite the burden on him it was to hold the item that had led Momo to his own death. Now, it was Ryuu's job to protect everyone with it. In fact, he never was the type to stand out, so such a responsibility put him on the spot. "I couldn't even protect Mitsuki and now. . ." he started but drifted off. What exactly had happened to Mitsuki?

Yuki let out a sigh. "Now that you're all here, I'll take the time to explain." And so he proceeded to explain everything he had to Ryuu and Tenn before they ran off earlier. He told Mitsuki, Riku, and Iori of the four spirit items; the Map of Foresight, the Flute of Mind Control, the Aconitum of Poison, and finally the Rapier of Power. He explained that three of the four had holders, that the Rapier did not have one and the holder of the Flute was the one who they had seem in the town at night— someone whom none of them were familiar with. He explicitly pointed out that Mitsuki had just received the Aconitum of Poison. He informed Riku, Iori, and Mitsuki that Ryuu was the holder of the Map of Foresight which was what led him to Mitsuki.

But there was something else he added this time that came new to Tenn and Ryuu: two of the items were cursed and the other two were gifts. The Map and the Rapier were gifts — meaning that the spirit in the item chose the holder by whoever held it. The Aconitum and the Flute were curses — the spirit and the holder of the item were bound by blood.

"I'm CURSED?!" Mitsuki practically screamed. Sweat rolled down the side of his face in fear. He couldn't take in so much information at once. He didn't know which to focus on and which really mattered at hand. He recalled the sleepy trance he had woken up from to see the woods surrounding him suddenly. So it had been the holder of the Flute of Mind Control that had drawn him to the Aconitum where he met Minami and had gotten cursed himself, which meant someone else was indeed in the area when he heard it, someone who was targeting him specifically since Riku hadn't heard it. Whoever it was had succeeded too easily on the second attempt.

"Nii-san, calm down," Iori said urgently, putting his attention back to Yuki and furrowing his brows. "You're saying that holder of the Flute is that male with the red cape, the one who we saw a couple of nights ago? He moved at the blink of an eye."

"Bluntly put, yes," Yuki replied. "But I'm unsure of who he is or what he is. . ." His voice trailed off as if he just had a thought. But he didn't say it. He figured there must be a confirmation first before he induced anymore fear into the mercenaries.

" _Aconitum of Poison_ , was it called?" Mitsuki's voice shook drastically now. "That's how. . . That's how I k-killed. . . M—" His mind flashed back to the purple flame that had formed at his fingertips. A flame of poison that was summoned without his own will. The thought scared him, that he could hurt someone in this room right now without meaning to, without even knowing how to. Maybe not even someone, but everyone.

"Don't," Yuki stopped Mitsuki as Riku gave the smaller male a tight hug. To Mitsuki's relief at least, he could be touched unlike the flower itself. He eased quickly.

"The Rapier of Power," Tenn said abruptly. "Where is it?" The aura surrounding him was tense. At least, more than usual.

"Tenn-nii, you don't mean to look for it do you. . ." Riku said nervously.

"Ryuu, look into the map," Tenn ordered.

Ryuu fumbled with the map in his hands right on cue. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea," he said.

"Tenn-nii." Riku glared at Tenn and stood up, confronting him. His voice had suddenly dropped to a deep seriousness. "We need to talk."

Their eyes met. Such a grave expression from his brother threw Tenn off a bit— he couldn't recognize it. Feeling the sense of urgency from Riku, Tenn kept a straight face. The whole bookshop had gone silent and everyone's eyes were glued on the two. Not liking being put on the spotlight like this, Tenn knew Riku had given him no other choice. With that small hint of tension, Tenn exited the shop, but not before clarifying, "I'll also keep an eye out on any unwelcome visitors." The door shut harshly, the night's scenery enveloping Tenn, almost as a way of taunting the others inside.

Riku's face dropped back to his resting expression, relieved that finally, he would get the chance to talk to his brother one-on-one. He gave Mitsuki one last reassuring touch on the shoulder and followed Tenn outside.

Once the two were out, Mitsuki broke the silence. "'Tenn...nii?'" he asked. "Are those two related?"

"I doubt we'll live to find out," Iori said with a grin. Ryuu and Mitsuki both shot him a look that said 'what-the-hell?' ". . . Not unless if we fight back the threat that's coming tonight," Iori added. He gestured at the basket of hand-picked Aconitum that Riku had brought back safely earlier. It was sitting in one of the chairs, the flowers still in fresh condition.

Mitsuki looked over at the mini stacked field of purple bells. He reached his hand out, noticing that his fingertips still looked like they were stained with purple dye, and took one. Ryuu and Iori widened their eyes at him.

"Nii-san!" Iori shouted in shock. Just as he was about to make a move on his brother, Ryuu held him back, overpowering him easily with his significantly larger build. "Let him," the older male said. Iori couldn't resist the grip so he had no other choice but to watch in horror, his heart pounding in his ears.

Mitsuki had the Aconitum between his fingers. He held it up and brought it up parallel to his face. With one concentrated breath, Mitsuki let go of his hold on the flower.

It didn't fall.

The force of gravity became nonexistent as the flower floated above his palm, its petals glittering gorgeously. But not wanting to risk anything other than a simple magic trick, he caught the flower back into his hand. A part of him felt a strong urge to just go outside into the night and attempt the limits of what he could do. The memory of Minami flashed before him, and suddenly, for just a moment, he felt as powerful as the spirit had shown himself to be.

Yuki grinned from the counter amusingly, contrary to Iori and Ryuu's jaws' dropping to the floor in sync. "Use your curse wisely," he said.

Mitsuki's grip on the flower tightened as he nodded to himself. "Alright then," he said and faced Ryuu and Iori who were both frozen in shock. "I'm going outside," he declared and made his way to the door, still holding the flower.

"Nii-san, you can't!" Iori retorted, but as Mitsuki shot back a dangerous glare, he knew there was no stopping his older brother anymore. "Well, at least I'm going with you."

"Fine, fine," Mitsuki snapped back as the two walked out of the bookshop. "But you will  _not_  get in the way, okay?! Just stay off to the side and don't even  _try—"_

The door slammed shut, leaving Ryuu and Yuki alone in the sudden silence. Ryuu unrolled the map out onto the counter and pressed his hands to it, pinning it down. "Don't mind me, I'll be putting this to use again," he said.

Yuki waved him off, indicating no bother. As Ryuu's conscious slipped away into the map, Yuki brought himself to the back of the bookshop, shutting the door behind him. He sat down on his couch (God forbid if he ever sat down on Momo's then the boy would throw a dog fight), resting his head back.

His mind traveled back to the days when he and Momo had first met, when they had moved into the village together, when Momo had come upon the map. Yuki thought of his last moments with Momo— trapped in this room together before Gaku had disappeared. Momo had said with a smile that he wasn't nervous, that he didn't fear death; however, the wolf didn't have a knack for hiding his true emotions. Yuki could see the fear reflected in his eyes, and the way Momo forced himself to act all jolly for Yuki's sake was painfully obvious.

Yuki's eyes scanned the room, identifying exactly which items were Momo's— especially the ones Yuki was forbidden to lay his hands on. The place felt awfully empty without his companion's presence, even with his treasures still in the room — which now served no purpose any longer. Together, the two had written a multitude of books from the art of chemistry to fantasy novels with dragons and fairies. They had left their mark in this universe. Everything they did since meeting each other was always as a duet.

So what purpose did Yuki have to be solo?

 _("I brought cookies, darling!"_  Momo's voice echoed in Yuki's head.  _"The humans apparently LOVE these!")_

Momo's job here was finished. He had guided the story's path to the end — the future. And no longer could he do anything anymore. If the future didn't belong to Momo, then in what sense would it belong to Yuki? For minutes, Yuki replayed these thoughts in his head, letting a tear run down his face. His hand glided over to the side of the couch where, in a certain hidden pocket, was a miniature cylinder of glass that held a purple liquid. Together, they had crafted this — a potion that guaranteed death. While legends said that a vampire was practically invincible, the Aconitum could kill anybody of any species. Such a dangerous plant it was to be meddling with.

_("This is... alcohol? I heard from my kin that this is one drink all species love!")_

He flicked off the cap and brought it up to his lips, the overwhelming numbness of grief consuming him.  _"To be used in a situation where we both can't be together any longer, ONLY!"_  Yuki heard Momo's voice behind him.  _"Promise me! We'll never have to drink this."_ And Yuki had promised that day when they had split the poison into separate glasses.

Now, he wasn't breaking his promise. They weren't together anymore. The deal was  _"we."_  Not  _"I."_ However, for some reason, he couldn't help but to hesitate. The glass never went further to his lips. Yuki noticed his own warm breath fog up the small glass's edge, but without another thought to himself, he threw it, watching it smash against the wall, the liquid raining in all directions yet barely staining the dark hardwood.

"I . . . can't."

Momo had written the books to be incomplete because the story was from his perspective; however, it was yet to be finished.

With each word Momo had written down, it had sealed the future. Now, the story was at the start of the blank pages. The blank pages, in which the future hadn't yet been concluded. From now on, the power to change the future was up in the air. Everyone could make their own story ending, anyone in this village could end this story. It was up to them, Yuki realized, to make sure that the holder of the Flute never gets the chance to finish their story. Momo's story.

Unfazed by his realization, but prepared to avenge Momo, Yuki remembered that approximately half of the book was left. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not added a chapter in FOREVER but heres another one. this chapter is beautified by a wonderful person ThatTenorSax on Wattpad :]]


	17. Lost Friends and Family

Tenn moved away from the bookshop, avoiding the orange light spilling out from the window. He walked down the village, listening to the sound of his boots tapping onto the stone-built road and the light clinking of the sword at his side with each step that filled the silence of the night. He stopped near the gate.

Riku followed after him, he still had his hefty pack on his back which slowed him down a bit. He stood nearby Tenn, taking a quick look outside of the village and at the barren trail and the line of trees which marked the woods. "I don't think it's safe to talk here," he said sheepishly.

"A professional always keeps himself on guard. If you can't look out for yourself, then you might as well quit what you do," Tenn shot back sourly. He had his arms crossed.

Riku winced at the sudden aggressiveness. But before he could start the focus of the conversation, Tenn said, "Why do you even need to carry that pack with you all the time?"

"Oh this," Riku said as he adjusted the straps on his pack to rest more snug on his shoulders but it didn't really have much of an effect. "I need to carry my stuff around," he explained. "Where do you put your items?"

"I don't have anything but a sword and a bit of change," Tenn said. He then paused for a bit before saying, "Do you carry around your inhaler?"

Riku's eyes widened a bit, thrown off by the sudden question. Despite all of the ignoring and harshness, Tenn actually remembered a part of childhood— something about Riku. He might've, at least. "Y - yeah!" Riku replied. He pulled the inhaler out from a hidden pocket of his cloak. "I got a new one at the White City. And restocked on refills. . ." He bit his lip. "But, I'm running out soon. I used more than I expected to just on the journey here."

Tenn frowned, but Riku knew it wasn't one of disappointment, it was of the concern Tenn always had a tendency to hide. "Riku," Tenn said, his voice lowering. "You can't stay here."

"You keep telling me that!" Riku's voice rose. "And I  _know_  I shouldn't but. . . Tenn-nii, I _have_  to!"

"And why is that?" Tenn growled at him. His hands balled up unintentionally. "What is so important here that you must risk your life for?"

"My friends! Lives to protect! You!" Riku answered with his hands thrown out, this time with no hesitation. His heart had found his reason the moment he first laid his eyes on the field of purple flowers with Mitsuki. It was at that moment, he knew his purpose. And the thought that Tenn didn't consider Riku possibly staying because of him gave Riku an urge to just shout out his frustration.

"Friends, huh?" Tenn scoffed with an eye-roll. "You only met them a couple of days ago."

Riku took in deep breaths to prevent himself from bursting out. He shot his glance off to the side and felt the tears welling up in his eyes. "I - I've been alone for so long, did you know that?" he started. "Ever since you left 10 years ago, I had no one but mother and father who were always at work, trying to hold up their small shop. When I left at 15, I traveled across these lands alone and never stayed in any one place for too long." Riku looked back up at Tenn, ignoring the tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes. He tried to hold down his voice but failed miserably. "Now that I've finally found you, you're telling me to stay away! Why? Why did you leave?!"

Tenn didn't budge after that. "Calm down, Riku," he said simply. "You can't have your asthma kick in now."

Frustrated, Riku put his head in his hands and took in multiple deep breaths. "Tenn-nii, I'm sorry for lashing out at you."

"Don't apologize," Tenn said, feeling like half of his heart had just been punched. Just then, he heard a whistle. He strained his ears. A wooden flute. Tenn felt his heart skip a beat. "Riku," he said urgently. "Cover your ears."

Riku brought his hands down, wiping the wetness from his face. "Huh?" He did exactly as Tenn told him not to— he listened. But he couldn't hear anything. 

Tenn threw the hood of his cloak over his head, it blocked out much of the sound immediately. He ran out of the village— the direction of where it was coming from.

Riku ran after him with a worried look on his face. They stopped at the edge of the side of the trail and looked out to the woods.

At the front of the trees, a beaten up man struggled to walk himself. He had the weight of a woman at his side, one his hands around her thin waist. Immediately, Tenn recognized the flow of blonde hair from the girl. The man was still in the shadows of the trees but the moment he stepped out into the moonlight, silver hair was revealed.

Tenn couldn't hold back his gasp. Immediately, he shot himself towards the two. "Gaku! Tsumugi!" The sudden wind blew his hood off.

"T - Tenn-nii!" Riku shouted and ran after him towards the figures. He didn't know the girl but definitely recognized the male from his first day upon arriving in the village.

The twins stopped in front of them. Tenn caught Gaku in his arms as the larger male fell forward, he stepped back a bit to balance the weight. Riku swooped the girl into his arms, holding her to his chest tightly. She was rather light-weight so it didn't take much more of the toll on him like the pack did. Despite the amount of dirt that had smeared on her face and the bloody scratches that were spread across her body, she was undoubtedly beautiful. Though much of her dress was in shreds so Riku made sure to keep his eyes up.

"They're in horrible shape," breathed Tenn. He started to pull himself back, holding Gaku tightly. "Riku, we need to get back to the bookshop right now."

"R - Right!" Riku shouted and he hurried his way up with the girl. 

"Goddamnit, why are you so heavy!" Tenn growled under his breath. "Gaku, when you wake up I'm gonna kill you." With each step he took, he felt himself tiring out already. His less-built body wasn't exactly made to lift heavy weights.

The flute sounded.

Tenn shot his head up, his eyes shooting across the gate of trees. The Flute holder— he was here somewhere. The one who had slashed his stomach so suddenly, the one who moved at an inhumane speed. And with Gaku in his hands, Tenn was in no position to fight back nor defend himself properly. He tried to shut the sound out by focusing on his friend in front of him. But he couldn't. A headache formed in his head as he reached the trail. "Almost there. . ." he muttered and saw off to the side that Riku was already past the gate, he was taking in breaths of his aspirator on the ground while Tsumugi's limp body leaned against him.

Tenn shook his head and as the flute sounded again. "Shut up!" he shouted into the night. He started to feel dizzy, he stumbled backwards onto the cobblestone, falling on his behind. Gaku went down with him, his head cushioned on Tenn's legs luckily. Tenn knocked at his head as the flute started to sound louder and louder in him. 

_(Not to lie, it is a nice tune.)_

Tenn crawled out from underneath Gaku and grabbed the handle of the sword at his side. "Such a burden you are, Gaku," he breathed as he unsheathed it, a grin forming at the curve of his lips. He pulled himself up on his tired feet and held the sword up above the unconscious man.

"TENN-NII! I'm sorry!" Riku's voice sounded. Just that moment, Tenn blinked, his mind clearing.

_(Wait—)_

A sudden hefty weight slammed against Tenn's back and partially hitting his head. The mercenary's body was tossed to the cobblestone away from Gaku, pain seared across his body as he let out a slight groan. The sword flew out from his grasp and landed on the grass.

Riku threw the pack he held onto the ground with a  _fwump_. He hovered himself above Tenn's body and latched a hand onto his shoulder, shaking him. "Tenn-nii! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you in the head!"

 _But you meant to hit me. I almost killed Gaku._ Tenn thought. _I tried to kill him. So this is the power of the Flute. . . How horrific._ A huff escaped past Tenn's lips, pleased that Riku had done the right thing— even if it was somewhat violent. The sound of the flute had diminished. "I'm fine," Tenn said as he managed himself up and sheathed his sword. He stared at the woods once again though he couldn't see anyone else as usual.

"Was it the Flute?" Riku asked nervously.

Tenn nodded and looked down at Gaku. He then glanced at the village, noticing it wasn't as far as he thought it was. Though through the village he could see Tsumugi back up on her feet. She was facing her back to them. Riku saw this too, he didn't say anything. And with a sudden sprint, Tsumugi ran off deeper into the village.

Tenn furrowed his brows, suspicious. There was no way in Tsumugi's physical state would she intentionally make a dash. He fought an internal war within himself— whether to leave Riku alone to bring Gaku to Yuki or stay with him and help out. _Riku can take care of himself can't he? He's done so this whole time._ Tenn shot Riku a look. "Riku. Take care of Gaku to the bookshop," he said urgently. And with that, he shot himself off into the village, not daring to hold himself back. And behind, he heard Riku cry out, "Right!"

As he passed the bookshop on his way, he saw Ryuu walking out onto the front steps. He quickly made a stop by. "Ryuu!" he shouted as the brown-haired mercenary's eyes widened. "Go help out Riku, now!"

"R - Right!" Ryuu stuttered. And as Tenn continued on his dash, Ryuu shouted at him, "To Nagi's carriage!"

Tenn knew what this meant: Ryuu had saw what would happen. It was a intimidating thought that Ryuu knew what Tenn would see within a few seconds time. But since Ryuu didn't bother to join him, he figured he had Ryuu's trust to handle it. As Tenn ran, he unsheathed the sword, preparing himself. His breaths turned into pants, he slowed down a bit. It wasn't long until he came close to the carriage which was situated outside of the gate— it wasn't moving and hadn't gone far out. It looked as though Nagi was making his way out but got stopped right after.

Approaching the carriage, which was well lit from the bright moonlight, he noticed Tsumugi reaching in. He walked up to her silently as she shuffled through the darkness of the inside of the carriage. "Tsumugi," he said.

She didn't reply. She only crawled in as if she hadn't heard him.

"Tsumugi," he repeated, this time louder and closer. He stood next to the carriage now, resting a hand on the side.

She still didn't reply as her body disappeared past the doors. She appeared to be climbing over someone. Tenn didn't bother to look inside. He brought himself to the front where the driver would be located. He opened the door and looked in. 

The driver was dead. Fresh blood ran down his collarbone and past the shadow of his clothes.

Tenn repulsed, seeing that the throat had been slit so neatly. He slammed the door and took in a deep breath.  _What happened? Who did that? It couldn't have been. . ._

Tenn whipped his head to the side to see Tsumugi looking at him, her eyes covered by the shadow of her messy bangs. She had a sword in her hand. But it wasn't just any sword. She was holding a sheathed  _rapier_. "Tsu—" 

Tsumugi swiped a red hand at him, fresh blood flying off as she cut through the air. Luckily, Tenn had dodged swiftly— agility being his best asset. And without wasting another second to think, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in closer. He then forced a punch to her stomach, which threw her off balance, and swung his boot at her leg, forcing her to the ground. The rapier she had clattered to the ground.

Tsumugi, being in horrible shape from her trip, fell as if her legs just stopped working. She collapsed to the ground, blinking a couple of times before letting out a soft, almost inaudible  "huh?" "Where am I. . ?" she breathed.

"Tsumugi!" Tenn bent down before her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "I had to do it— you were under the spell."

"Spell. . ?" 

Tenn didn't explain any further. There was a time and place for that and right now and here  _was not_  it. He quickly grabbed the rapier and adjusted it to his uniformed belt in a slot that hadn't yet been taken since he only carried around one sword though there were slots for three.  _Nagi won't be needing this anymore._  He gently lifted her body up into his arms and held her tight. Though before he ran, he noticed at the corner of his eyes the body of someone

(Nagi, it must've been)

in the carriage leaning back lifelessly. And through the darkness, he could see a deep red stain running down the male's neck. The sight almost made Tenn jump and he ran off back into the village as if he were running for his own life, his heart beating rapidly.

Tsumugi had killed Nagi. He knew it. It was the only possible explanation. She had been under the spell of the Flute and killed them. He then thought of the rapier by his side, recalling that she was holding it.

_The spell gave her the power to walk even when she's in poor physical condition. The holder of the Flute made her kill Nagi and take a rapier. Was the Flute holder going after the rapier for himself? And how did she even kill the men in the carriage by s - slitting their throats. . ._

Tenn looked down at Tsumugi's hands which were hanging below her. They were dripping with fresh blood.

_If Riku hadn't knocked me out of the spell then would I have been the one to do this task. . ._

Fear aroused in Tenn as he ran, speeding up his pace, cutting out the sound of anything else but his panting. He could well comprehend what had just happened without any suspicions. However, he couldn't understand why. And now there was a new situation laid upon him— what to do with the dead messenger of the King Banri. Then suddenly, he figured that the Flute holder could still be in the area. He wondered if Riku had successfully brought Gaku to the bookshop with Ryuu's help. A part of him still wasn't sure if it was alright to leave Riku on his own. An unknown feeling dwelled inside of Tenn's chest as he screamed in his mind,

_Riku, please be alright!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter was just action action.
> 
> Explanation: Only the targeted person can hear the Flute.
> 
> Honestly, I love it how Riku and Tenn are sour then suddenly the best of partners :>
> 
> Well, Tsumugi and Gaku are back! It's been EIGHT chapters with Gaku's absence. He went off on a long honeymoon. Also I have plenty in mind for Tsumugi.


	18. The Ice Wolf's Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been a while since ive posted cuz its summer and im awfully busy. this chapter has been available on wattpad for a while but i finally remembered to post it here lel forgive me

Mitsuki did not leave to practice his newfound abilities. And he certainly had not planned to bring Iori along. Unfortunately, as the good older brother he was, Mitsuki let the younger male accompany him. Iori had agreed not to interfere with Mitsuki's activities but it sounded more of an empty promise since Iori had a thing for interjecting when he felt it was necessary. 

But Iori had a quick wit and knew his brother more than anyone else did. And he did not hesitate to ask the dreaded question. As the two walked without saying a word to each other through the small village, Iori kept behind his older brother and broke the silence with: "Nii-san, you're after the wolf aren't you?"

Mitsuki didn't respond to this. He wanted to keep his ears open for perhaps a stick snapping or the shifting of grass off in the distance instead of having his younger brother pose as a distraction.

Iori let out a huff which came out more loud than he intended it to. He felt a strong urge to grab the scrawny arm of Mitsuki's and demand an explanation but held himself back as much as he possibly could. _No_ , he told himself, _Mitsuki knows what he's doing. Right? Yes, he does. So let him have his way. . . Don't doubt your own brother._

Except he did.

"Mitsuki," he said intently, "just tell me. I won't stop you."

As if Mitsuki would believe that. He clenched his fists and rolled his eyes as he walked on forward towards the middle of the village. He stopped in the shadow of two short, wooden buildings off to the side, a place where he could keep his eye out on both sides of the village. Iori joined in next to him, also hiding himself in the darkness.

"I'd think it'd be wise if you were to inform your accompaniment of your plans," Iori huffed.

"Goddamnit Iori! Just shut up!" Mitsuki whisper-yelled, his bright, orange eyes glaring at his brother with annoyance. "Fine! Yes, I'm waiting for the wolf! And there's _no way_ you're going to hold me back!"

Iori flinched. He decided to step down a bit since he had gotten on his older brother's rotten side once again. "Okay, okay. I was just wondering if you have a plan? You might not want to just throw yourself out into—"

 _Such an annoying little brother I have,_ Mitsuki thought, _and he's not even mildly childish._ He let the rest of Iori's words just fly by his head, from one ear and out the other.

"Nii-san, are you even listening to me?" Iori said lamely. 

 _Oh, I'll show you,_ Mitsuki thought with a grim smile growing on his face. _I'll prove myself worthy. There's no way in hell I'd let the wolf escape again._

* * *

The door bursted open with a _BANG!_ , drawing all heads to the door as if magnetically. Yuki, who was at the counter of the bookshop as usual, almost instinctively slammed his book shut in alarm until he saw who was at the door. Riku and and Ryuu, who were crouching down in front of Gaku's unconscious body on the floor almost withdrew their weapons. But luckily enough, Tenn Kujo just stood there panting with Tsumugi in his arms. As soon as his eyes found Riku, his expression shifted to one which was more calm. 

"Welcome back," Yuki said, his hands now more relaxed on the book. Though the edge of the page he was on had crumpled a bit. "Looks like we have yet another visitor."

"Tenn-ni!" Riku said in relief. He gestured at an empty spot on the floor which was likely left like that on purpose for his arrival. And immediately, Tenn gently placed Tsumugi's light body down next to Ryuu who was checking Gaku's pulse.

"How is he?" Tenn asked.

Ryuu chuckled slightly, he removed his hand from Gaku's neck and moved over to Tsumugi. "He seems to be okay, just exhausted and loss of blood from some minor injuries."

"And we patched him up," Riku said. Next to him was a bottle with unidentifiable orange liquid and a roll of bandages which still had a plentiful amount left. Tenn grabbed the bottle, the liquid inside of it swished easily like normal water, examining it with an unsure expression on his face.

"What even is this?" he asked. His eyes then went to Gaku's patched up body seeing that bandages were wrapped around each arm and leg and even his torso. His friend had the potential to be a mummy.

"A 'healing potion' according to Yuki," Riku replied. "And whether it works or not— that'll be found out in supposedly an hour prior to applying it."

Tenn shot a baffled look to Yuki who was sucked into his book. "Why didn't I get any of this?" he asked with a low voice, recalling back to when his stomach had been slashed by the mysterious Flute holder. The bandages applied then were still wrapped on him and should probably be changed tonight.

Yuki didn't reply. He simply continued on with his reading. "Oh my," he let out, "did any of you know that there's a forbidden forest with ginormous spiders and centaurs somewhere in this magical world?"

"You can't possibly believe that," Tenn groaned.

"Oh right! I forgot this is just a novel," Yuki replied, feeling so foolish of himself. No one would have ever believed of the internal crisis he had experienced before Riku and Ryuu returned with an unconscious body in their hands. Perhaps it was just a scheme to appear as if he were perfectly fine without Momo. If it were, it worked. 

Tenn rolled his eyes and huffed.

Riku was applying the orange liquid onto cotton balls and then gently pressing it to Tsumugi's red-stained skin— when applied, the liquid looked more clear than orange. Then Ryuu wrapped the fresh bandages around the wounds.

"What happened to her?" Riku asked Tenn who was now leaning against a bookshelf, his weight settled on the floor with most of the people here.

"I don't know," Tenn said honestly. And didn't go any further than that. He figured it wouldn't be wise to bring up any more alarms especially if he could look into it himself. Speaking of which, he had some business to take care of now.

 _Typical of Tenn,_ Ryuu thought, _to keep to himself about everything. However, if Tenn is hiding something important. . . no— he would know better than to do that._ Ryuu watched as Tenn stood up and exited the bookshop without saying another word— not even at least where he was going or what he was up to in case of an emergency. Such an independent man, he was.

Riku was wiping down Tsumugi's hands back to it's pale complexion, cleaning it of dirt and fresh blood. He had to question why her fingers were so drenched in blood and who's blood it could be but since he didn't get any answers, he figured that would be a time for later. He looked at Ryuu with confused eyes. "Is Tenn-ni always like that?"

"Nothing new," Ryuu replied, catching onto Riku calling Tenn by a certain brotherly-like nickname and wondered if there was anything between them. Whatever it was, they certainly didn't seem close. At all.

* * *

A glitter of purple danced around Mitsuki's fingers as he twirled them gracefully. It eased between the spaces of his fingers and morphed into a butterfly beating it's wings as it flew. And with the closing of his fist, the purple incinerated into nothing but dust.

"What do you think, Iori?" Mitsuki asked. "I could be a magician and make tons of money for us!"

"You think people will pay to see magic?" Iori said glumly. He certainly wouldn't. Even if he weren't getting it for free right now.

"Yeah!" Mitsuki was enthusiastic. He stood in the middle of the cobblestone street, not even bothering to check if anyone was watching from a window or in the shadows. It was unlikely after all, it was dangerous outside in a time like this. And yet, Mitsuki didn't feel the least bit frightened. He held out both hands into a cup and a fuzzy ball of purple light formed.

Iori stood a cautious distance away from his brother near the baker's shop (and house since most people here couldn't afford to have both a shop and a house). "Just be careful, nii-san," he said.

The ball in Mitsuki's hands hardened into a glass orb, he held it with one hand and tossed it up, catching it on it's way down. "Don't worry so much," he said to Iori for what felt like the umpteenth time. It was always the same cycle of 'be careful!' and 'don't worry!' Oh, just when will they ever move on? Perhaps it was just a brotherly thing.

Iori watched Mitsuki like a hawk, ready to squawk at any moment. In attempt distract himself from his constant worry, he shifted his eyes to the boarded-up glass of the bakery. He remembered when there was once an assortment of breads and pastries on display at the window until the town fell into a slumber of fear. But not even the whole window was boarded-up, there were still cracks between the boards of wood neatly lined along the window. It seemed that whoever had put the boards up (likely the baker) only had a limited supply of five boards which couldn't fit the entire window. Iori squinted at the glass that was shaded by the boards above and underneath it. Inside, he couldn't see much of the bakery except for the outline of the empty display case where customers chose out their pick. It had been a while since he'd taken a visit to the bakery since he was so caught up with the situation at hand. And suddenly he felt a craving for some warm bread. Hell, when was the last time he had even eaten?

A line moved in the glass.

Iori stepped forward and focused his eyes on the figure which seemed like a ghost from of it's translucency. The lines made some sort of animal-like figure with fur. A dog? He couldn't quite tell. But the animal was far too small to be legit. A light growl sounded behind him. It was then he realized it was a reflection.

Iori shot his body around and came eye to eye with a wolf glaring at him from the middle of the street with it's hungry ice-blue orbs. Immediately, his body froze. His eyes traveled to Mitsuki who was standing up boldly with a straight back, as if asserting his dominance. 

"I've been expecting you," Mitsuki said to the wolf with a bold expression. He pulled the aconitum from his pocket and thrust it out by the stem in front of him. "And this time, I'm prepared."

"M - Mit—" Iori tried but utterly failed. His jaw felt it was locked in place, his lungs burned from the heaved gasps he unconsciously took. _Mitsuki, be careful!_ was what he going to shout. Maybe it was for the best that his own body stopped him.

The wolf turned it's glare to Mitsuki and growled angrily. What induced such anger, neither of the brothers knew. It could've been the fact that Mitsuki had survived the first attack. It could've been that it was just being aggressive. It dug it's paws into the dirt, ready to make a pounce.

Mitsuki took in a deep breathing, readying himself.

The wolf charged forward.

Within the mere second it took for the wolf to move at it's incomprehensible speed, a sudden bolt of shock struck Mitsuki, freezing him. A memory flashed in his head of the black and white wolf in the woods. The image of Momo's dying consciousness in his arms.

_Momo. . . I killed him. He was a wolf. Couldn't that mean that this wolf too could also—_

A heavy weight crashed into Mitsuki's small chest, throwing him off his feet. Pain seared throughout his body. He could feel something sharp rip through the skin on one arm. He let out a horrid scream as he slammed onto the hard cobblestone a length's away from where he stood before, his body rolling a bit before it came to a stop on his side. A pain knocked at the side of his head, he must've hit it. 

"MITSUKI!" Iori called out from a distance though Mitsuki couldn't tell how far he had been thrown.

Mitsuki let out a cry upon seeing his arm. Another image flashed in his eyes. He briefly saw the glowing eyes glaring at him in the darkness of his home, hungry to kill. _That night I got attacked. . . it's repeating itself._

Iori didn't have any weapon. He didn't know how to wield one either. And the most he had was a dull kitchen knife back at the house which wasn't on him right now. Instinctively, he found his legs moving desperately for his brother who lay on the ground with one arm drenched in blood.

At the corner of his eyes, the wolf was eyeing him. He must've looked ridiculous without any methods of protection— just running. Sweat poured down the side of his face, his heart pounded like a heavy drum.

_Why, Mitsuki? What was that look on your face. . ._

The wolf ran. Not after Iori— just towards Mitsuki once again. And it moved with greater speed. Iori's heart dropped down to the abyss. This would be it. He reached out his hand to his brother, coming in close, and made a leap.

A flash of crimson swiftly swept behind him. Along with it, the rapid tapping of boots and the heavy beating of a cloak.

The wolf let out a cry as Iori's body slammed on top of his brother's, crushing the smaller male. He held his brother, who's eyes were shaking from the sight of the running blood pooling beneath him, tightly in protection. But nothing came. He looked back.

Riku stood before him, looking down at the two with a dagger in his hands, dripping with blood. The moonlight reflected off his bright red eyes and crimson hair. Behind him, the wolf lay limp on it's side. Blue particles were forming around it's body.

Iori let out an audible sigh of relief, he brought Mitsuki's body up into his arms and nodded to Riku, giving the message. And with that, he wasted no more seconds to run off back to the bookshop which was more of their base now. There, he expected to find at least Yuki to help him out with Mitsuki's wound. But boy, would be in for a surprise.

Riku faced the wolf, his shadow casting upon it. The blue particles formed a cloud around the wolf for a second.  _This must've been what Mitsuki saw with Momo,_ he thought. _There's someone hiding underneath the mask._

The particles burst, revealing a male in what appeared to be a long, gray coat which connected itself with two strings at the waist. Underneath, he wore a gray top with parallel buttons, held together by strings, and white pants. The outfit was quite exquisite for someone who lurked in the woods. He certainly did not come from this town, though the possibility that he came from a wealthy house was strange, yet undoubted.

Riku kneeled down and examined his messy, light blue hair. His eyes traveled from the unfamiliar face to the bleeding gash along the collarbone— the one he had inflicted.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, taking the butt of his dagger and bringing it down on the male's temple. After confirming that the male was indeed, unconscious, he lifted the body up in his arms and headed back to the bookshop. Tonight, would be a full house.  
  


And from behind a building off to the side, a familiar male in a crimson cape around his shoulders watched intently, biting the bottom of his lip. He gripped tighter on the wooden flute in his hands, feeling an urge to blow into it, just one more time tonight. But his lungs wouldn't allow it— they were drained. The Flute had taken it's toll for tonight. And for the next day, he would be alone— scared of what the townsfolk would do to his partner, his loyal servant. And so, he knew the responsibility was on him to get the wolf back safely. And that idea scared him now— for he hadn't been able to predict what was coming next after the book reached the white pages.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TAMAKI IS HERE FINALLY LOL that took FOREVER.
> 
> And i swear sogo will be coming into the light soon. I'd like his special introduction to be on a certain chapter number... bc it is sorta special.
> 
> This chapter was originally going to have an event happen that i'd envision for a while but things certainly didn't turn out as i expected so that'll be saved for later heh.
> 
> The book yuki was reading is harry potter and the sorcerer's stone. It's a reference that Mitsuki is sort of like a wizard now :>


End file.
